Articles
Large panoramic wallpaper (gouache on paper) in grisaille representing one of the episodes in the story of Psyche, "Psyche in the Bath" where the princess undressed and surrounded by nymphs is about to take a bath in a sumptuous Empire-style palace, Cupid admiring it from the side, wallpaper from the Manufacture Joseph Dufour *, XIXth century.
This wallpaper is part of a series of 12 paintings retracing the history of Psyche produced by the Manufacture Joseph Dufour at the beginning of the 19th century and reissued throughout the century (see information below).
This painting is in good condition. It is made up of 4 strips, which were pasted onto a canvas later.
A note: some spots on the gray, an accident and a hole in the upper part on the right, wear of time, take a good look at the photos.
Born in Tramayes in 1754, from a modest family, Louis-Joseph Dufour learned his trade in Lyon and began to work in a wallpaper factory in this city, at the Atelier de la Charité. In 1797, he set up his own factory in Mâcon, rue de la Paroisse. After the success of the panoramic "Savages of the Pacific Sea" from a drawing by Jean-Gabriel Charvet inspired by Captain Cook's third voyage, to the exhibition of Products of French Industry, in Paris, in 1806, Joseph Dufour moved to Paris, rue de Beauvau, in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine "high place of artisanal and manufacturing production of the Ancien Régime"; the success is immediate and the rise rapid. The House - which became Dufour-Leroy in 1821 - acquired international renown on the death of its founder (1827); its notoriety spread throughout Europe and as far as the Americas. The manufacture then occupies one of the first places in the French wallpaper industry. The beautiful hangings on various subjects (the panoramics, the landscape paintings, the antique subjects - dear to the Empire style, the great successful romantic works) which have long been produced in the factory of M.Leroy-Dufour are of real paintings which form a very beautiful ornament in the apartments. In addition to the prestigious and costly production of panoramics, there is a current production of wallpapers with repeating patterns. In 1836, Amable Leroy leased the Dufour & Leroy fund to Lapeyre J. and Drouard and C °, located 10 rue Beauveau - Saint Antoine from 1850 to 1854. (Extract Magazine from ProAntic)
refer to Jean de La Fontaine's novel Les amours de Psyché et Cupidon (1669), itself inspired by the tale L'Âne d'or by Apuleius (2nd century). This panoramic decoration was made on a composition by Louis Laffite, who himself was inspired by François Gérard and Pierre-Paul Prudhon, two famous painters of the neoclassical period. We should therefore not be surprised by the style of these panels, which include antique furniture inspired by Jacob. The realization is a technical challenge, since a motif is never repeated from one panel to another. The grisaille aspect actually required 23 colors, and for the whole it took 1245 engraved wooden boards, all of which were printed manually. Considerable work, which has been rewarded since the Joseph Dufour manufacture which manufactured it obtained a silver medal at the Exhibition of French Industry Products in 1819. Wallpaper enjoyed extraordinary popularity at the beginning of the 19th century. , because it was cheaper than painted woodwork and could therefore penetrate the interiors of the well-to-do bourgeoisie. By lowering costs, mass production made it possible to offer beauty to as many people as possible, a democratic argument that manufacturers have put forward a lot.
(Decorative Arts Museum website)
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