Girls with Grapes from a set of the Italian Village Scenes
Original title: Girls with Grapes from a set of the Italian Village Scenes
kurzbeschreibung
François Boucher designed this tapestry between 1734 and 1736, and it was woven in 1762. Two women inhabit a rural idyll. Made of wool and silk, the piece belongs to the Italian Village Scenes series and measures 281.9 × 82.6 centimetres.
Description
One woman sits on a rock holding a bouquet of flowers; the other stands to the side, pointing with her hand at something. Trees, a stream and a stone bridge step back through the space. A floral border frames the pictorial field. Grey tones dominate the palette, and even light draws out the figures and details.
Context
The design was made for the Gobelins manufactory, which Boucher directed. The Italian Village Scenes were highly popular with the nobility and the wealthy bourgeoisie, since they served pastoral ideals and a longing for simple country life. In that period Boucher was known for his rural and mythological subjects, which matched the taste of the Rococo era.
Impact
A quiet harmony emanates from the arrangement, carrying the viewer into an idealised rural world. The figures and the nature around them create a sentimental mood characteristic of Boucher's style, inviting the eye to linger.
Technique
It was woven in the high-warp manufactory technique with 21 to 23 warps per inch, equivalent to 8 to 9 per centimetre. Wool and silk allowed a fine rendering of detail and nuanced colour transitions of the kind that distinguished the quality of Gobelins tapestries of the period.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)