Beauvais
A town north of Paris famous throughout the world for its tapestries, the Royal Beauvais manufactory was established in the 17th century by Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619 – 1683); its purpose was to produce fine tapestries for private commissions (unlike the Gobelins manufactory which was largely state owned). The first director was a Fleming, from Oudenaarde, named Philippe Behagle (1641 – 1705) and under his directorship some exceptional sets of tapestries were produced. These include The Story of the Emperor of China, the Grostesques de Berain, Les Ports de Mer/The Seaports, Children Playing, and an array of landscape designs. In the 1730’s the workshops gained a huge boost with the appointment of the great artist, Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686 – 1755) as artistic director. Extraordinary designs followed, including The Fables de la Fontaine, and this opened the door to the extraordinary and perhaps best known designs of François Boucher. Boucher produced several great series, The Loves of the Gods, The Story of Psyche, Fêtes Italiennes and his own chinoiserie series, known as the Deuxieme Tenture. Like the Gobelins, the Beauvais workshops eventually became state owned.
Callisto and Diana
SOLD
Beauvais Tapestry
From the series: The Loves of the Gods
France, circa 1690
12ft 5in width x 10ft 2in height
3.78m x 3.10m
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The Pineapple Harvest
Price on application
Beauvais Tapestry
From the series: The Story of the Emperor of China
Also known as: The First Tenture Chinoise
France, circa 1700
8ft 4in width x 10ft 3in height
2.54m x 3.12m -
La Pêcheuse
Price on application
Louis XV Beauvais Tapestry
From the series: Fêtes Italiennes
Designed by François Boucher (1703 – 1770)
France, circa 1760
7ft 9in width x 10ft 2in height
2.36m x 3.10m
