Carton attributed to SIMON VOUET (Paris, 1590-1649) Atelier... Lot 62

Carton attributed to SIMON VOUET (Paris, 1590-1649) Atelier du faubourg Saint-Marcel OVID'S METAMORPHOSES : THE DANCE OF THE SATYRES Paris, ca. 1635-1645 Wool and silk H. 285 x W. 465 cm "Tapestry of fine wool and silk, Paris style, composed of nine pieces, representing the Loves of the Gods, with the frieze blue background with foliage and grotesques, et au coins et dans le milieu de chaque costé ornée de camaïeux en cartouches dont les ovales sont à fonds jaune avec petites figures de clair obscur [dont] La Danse des satyres" one can read in the inventory of 1653 of the cardinal de Mazarin (quoted from Maurice Fenaille, Etat général des tapisseries de la manufacture des Gobelins.1903, I, p. 344). According to Maurice Fenaille, Mazarin's tapestry was made in the Gobelins workshops to the designs of Vouet (Paris, 1590-1649) and enjoyed a long and prosperous career, being taken up in whole or in part by other workshops in the capital. The borders vary. Ours has foliage on a yellow background and cartouches on a blue background, which can also be found on the tapestry of the same subject in the Château de Sully-sur-Loire (fig. 1). In a bucolic landscape, Pan is sitting on a tree branch playing the syrinx in memory of the nymph transformed into reeds. A faun accompanies him and looks at us. As a counterpart to this male group, hidden behind a tree, three nymphs are watching him. In the background, three small satyrs are dancing a round, "the dance of the satyrs".