ticketsMember | Make a donation

The Collation from a set of the Italian Village Scenes

designed 1734–36, woven 1762
Not on view
Images of gardens were popular in the tapestry medium from the medieval era, where the so-called mille-fleurs (thousand flowers) (see also MMA 2013.506) provided a decorative, and sometimes symbolic, setting for scenes of romance and play. Park and garden tapestries continued to enjoy popularity throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, particularly for the decoration of more intimate chambers, where they provided a pleasant contrast with the grander subject matter of tapestries used in more formal settings. The theme enjoyed new popularity with the advent of the Rococo style during the eighteenth century, and a number of highly decorative landscape and garden series were produced in French and Netherlandish workshops during the second third of the eighteenth century. Among the most notable was the series of romantic pastorals that Boucher designed for the Beauvais workshops between 1734 and 1736 (MMA 64.165.1–.8). Known as the Fetes Italiennes, and loosely inspired by the idyllic park scenes of Antoine Watteau, this series depicted handsome gentlefolk and peasants in idealized exterior settings.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Collation from a set of the Italian Village Scenes
  • Designer: Designed by François Boucher (French, Paris 1703–1770 Paris)
  • Manufactory: Beauvais
  • Workshop director: André Charlemagne Charron (French, active 1754–80)
  • Patron: Commissioned for Boulard de Gatellier (Château de Gatellier (Loire))
  • Date: designed 1734–36, woven 1762
  • Culture: French, Beauvais
  • Medium: Wool, silk (21-23 warps per inch, 8-9 per cm.)
  • Dimensions: 10 ft. 10 in. × 8 ft. 6 in. (330.2 × 259.1 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles-Tapestries
  • Credit Line: Gift of Ann Payne Robertson, 1964
  • Object Number: 64.145.3
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Young Girl with a Boy and a Dog, François Boucher French, Red chalk.
Young Girl with a Boy and a Dog
François Boucher
18th century
Drawing for "La Colonne Trajane", François Boucher French, Red chalk
Drawing for "La Colonne Trajane"
François Boucher
18th century
Drawing for "La Colonne Trajane", François Boucher French, Red chalk
Drawing for "La Colonne Trajane"
François Boucher
18th century
Collection of Fountains (Receuil de Fontaines)
François Boucher
Chez Huquier
before 1736
Study of a peasant man and woman, from Livre d'Étude d'après les Desseins Originaux de Blomart Gravé Par Francois Boucher peintre De l'Academie Royale (Book of Studies after Original Designs by Blomart Engraved [Etched] by Francois Boucher painter of the Royal Academy), plate 10
François Boucher
Abraham Bloemaert
18th century

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Showing 4 of 6

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.