Tapestry; Aubusson; late 18th - early 19th century. Wool. Provenance:... Lot 10

Tapestry; Aubusson; late 18th - early 19th century. Wool. Provenance: private collection conceived since the 1970s between London and Madrid. Measurements: 254 x 260 cm Tapestry made in wool that represents a figurative scene of costumbrista character, since it is possible to appreciate an idyllic image inspired by the painting of Fragonard and starred by popular characters carrying out daily tasks. The scene takes place in a profuse landscape that opens out on the right-hand side of the composition, giving the image greater depth. The way in which the vegetation is treated is reminiscent of the style known as verdure, although it is true that in this case the presence of architecture plays a major role. Finally, the piece is framed by a border made up of a floral chain of roses whose style shows that we are in the neoclassical period. The town of Aubusson was home to numerous tapestry workshops, which were created by Flemish weavers who settled in the area at the end of the 16th century. Their operation was rudimentary compared to that of the Royal Gobelins Manufactory: they had no painters, no dyers, and no commercial structure, so their tapestries were sold in inns to a lower-class private clientele, mainly provincial aristocrats. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Aubusson workshops specialised in vegetable tapestries (with mainly floral decoration), but the situation changed radically when, in the mid-17th century, this centre was reorganised by Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Louis XIV's minister, with the aim of converting these workshops into royal manufactories. He subjected the Aubusson and Felletin workshops to a guild regulation and, in return, promised to provide them with a painter and a dyer. This promise, however, did not become effective until the 18th century, a turning point for the workshops of La Marche, which saw a considerable increase in the quality of their tapestries as they were able to count on a painter dedicated to making cartoons and a dyer who produced dyes of a higher quality than those used until then. Until the 18th century, the tapestries of La Marche were characterised by their thick density (50-60 threads per square decimetre), poor quality wool, sometimes very poorly refined, limited colours with a predominance of earthy and green (almost never red, the most expensive and most complicated colour to produce), poor drawing, with few figures, hence the predominance of tapestries with vegetables, and little silk, with wool being used predominantly. On the other hand, the Aubusson tapestries of the 18th century were already of a much higher quality, thanks to the important transformations undergone by these workshops. Louis XIV gave the workshops of La Marche the character of a royal manufacture, and at the beginning of the 18th century, many Protestant weavers arrived in France as a result of the war with Spain and the renewal of the Edict of Nantes. In the 1830s, Colbert's promise was fulfilled; in 1732 Jean Joseph Dumons was appointed painter to the manufactory, and he was to produce the first cartoons made specifically for these workshops. He also retouched the cartons when they deteriorated, and gave drawing lessons to the workshop workers (a small drawing school was set up in Aubusson in 1742). Dumons was succeeded by Jacques Nicolas Julliard in 1755, who remained active until 1789. After his departure, the new painter at Aubusson was Jacques Dorliac, who specialised in tapestries of exotic vegetables, which were very successful commercially. A master dyer was also appointed to the manufactory, and so the colours were improved and a wider palette was introduced.