18TH CENTURY

The virtuosity and skill of the weavers at the Savonnerie factory are perhaps most overtly demonstrated by the magnificent carpets woven for the Grand Gallerie of the Palais du Louvre. This pair of still-life panels however, presents an entirely different aspect of the output of the Savonnerie workshops. These 'pictures' and 'portraits' were executed throughout the existance of the factory and were framed and put behind glass like oil-paintings. Pierre Verlet has suggested that they were intended as gifts for important individuals and also perhaps as a chef-d'oeuvre for anyone becoming a Master. This may also account for the fact that these products do not appear in the official records of the factory. Interestingly, a similar omission in the records of the Gobelins, where these pictures were also produced, has been pointed out by Maurice Fenaille. The Savonnerie pictures and portraits were however greatly admired. Verlet quotes the following words of praise, which were expressed at the time of the Revolution: 'Un tableau encadré et sous glace, fait en tapisserie, à la manufacture dite de la Savonnerie, représentant un chien barbet qui s'amuse à croquer un ruban de coulour... L 600. la moëllure de la laine, en laquelle ce tableau est ourdi avec tant d'art, de finesse et de perfection, fait que sa ressemblance frappante avec le poil du chien , quoique regardé de bien près, on croiait ce tableau peint à l'huile ou tout au moins au pastel. Il sort du petit Trianon.(P. Verlet, The Savonnerie-the James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon, Fribourg, 1982, p. 311) The offered pair of still-life panels is similar to a pair in the Musée Nissim de Camondo, which are executed after a still-life by Anne-Vallayer Coster and reputedly once belonged to the Marquis de Marigny, who was one of the most important protectors of the factory. (Verlet, ibid, fig.194, p.318)

See illustration