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Lot Essay
During the eighteenth century the decorative Rococo character of chinoiseries became ever more fashionable in the applied arts. Pillement was one of the most prolific and sought after artists of this period. He travelled extensively, working in Spain, where he was offered the position of First Painter to King José I; England, where he quickly became a successful designer of patterns for the applied arts; and Poland, where he became First Painter to King Stanislaw August Poniatowski, producing decorative panels and paintings for the King's castles in Warsaw.
In 1755, he engraved his first series entitled A New Book of Chinese Ornaments, and between 1770-3, in what was to be a period of great activity, he completed 24 folios of chinoiseries designs and floral projects. These publications provided motifs that he would draw on, with slight variations, in many of his designs. This lot is one such example of Pillement reprising previous motifs. The screen depicting two figures riding an ostrich and holding a parasol adorned with flowers and bells, for instance, derives drom the artist's Recueil de Figures Chinoises, c. 1770 (see M. Gordon-Smith, Pillement, Cracow, 2006, p. 337, fig. 363). As Maria Gordon-Smith notes, Pillement struck a new chord in his approach to chinoiserie decorations. The taste for Far-Eastern figures clad in kimonos had lost their appeal; Pillement instead combined the familiar with the exotic. This can be seen in this screen where a fantastical world of exotic animals and vegetation has been created with figures who could easily be European country folk wearing Oriental clothing. The popularity of Pillement's chinoiserie motifs was not limited to only England and France, but were also circulated as far away as St. Petersburg. Because his motifs were not too intricate, they were easily transferrable and were adopted both in his lifetime and posthumously in the design of ceramics, silver, tapestries and textiles. Indeed, his designs continue to be fashionable today.
We are grateful to Maria Gordon-Smith for confirming the attribution to Jean-Baptiste Pillement after inspection of the original.
In 1755, he engraved his first series entitled A New Book of Chinese Ornaments, and between 1770-3, in what was to be a period of great activity, he completed 24 folios of chinoiseries designs and floral projects. These publications provided motifs that he would draw on, with slight variations, in many of his designs. This lot is one such example of Pillement reprising previous motifs. The screen depicting two figures riding an ostrich and holding a parasol adorned with flowers and bells, for instance, derives drom the artist's Recueil de Figures Chinoises, c. 1770 (see M. Gordon-Smith, Pillement, Cracow, 2006, p. 337, fig. 363). As Maria Gordon-Smith notes, Pillement struck a new chord in his approach to chinoiserie decorations. The taste for Far-Eastern figures clad in kimonos had lost their appeal; Pillement instead combined the familiar with the exotic. This can be seen in this screen where a fantastical world of exotic animals and vegetation has been created with figures who could easily be European country folk wearing Oriental clothing. The popularity of Pillement's chinoiserie motifs was not limited to only England and France, but were also circulated as far away as St. Petersburg. Because his motifs were not too intricate, they were easily transferrable and were adopted both in his lifetime and posthumously in the design of ceramics, silver, tapestries and textiles. Indeed, his designs continue to be fashionable today.
We are grateful to Maria Gordon-Smith for confirming the attribution to Jean-Baptiste Pillement after inspection of the original.