The Chinese Garden

Historically, creating a handwoven tapestry required the talents of many artists and craftsmen. First, an artist created a design. Then, it was made into a cartoon, a full-scale preparatory painting created by the period's most celebrated painters. Dyers and weavers then wove this picture.

This tapestry cartoon was produced in the ateliers of Aubusson, one of France’s finest and most historically important tapestry workshops. The design is loosely based on the Rococo painting “The Chinese Garden” by 18th-century French artist François Boucher, whose patrons included Louis XV and his mistress Madame de Pompadour. The whimsical chinoiserie scene is painted in a distinguishing palette of high tone pinks and blues and depicts figures gathered in a lush ornamental garden near a decorative pavilion.