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design and cartoon by François Boucher; woven under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Oudry and Nicolas Besnier at the Beauvais manufactory Nicolas Besnier (artist) French design and cartoon by François Boucher; woven under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Oudry and Nicolas Besnier at the Beauvais manufactory Jean-Baptiste Oudry (artist) French, 1686 - 1755 design and cartoon by François Boucher; woven under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Oudry and Nicolas Besnier at the Beauvais manufactory Beauvais Tapestry Factory (weaver) French, founded 1664 design and cartoon by François Boucher; woven under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Oudry and Nicolas Besnier at the Beauvais manufactory François Boucher (artist after) French, 1703 - 1770 Dream of Rinaldo, c. 1751 tapestry: undyed wool warp; dyed wool and silk weft overall (approximate dimensions): 281.3 x 472.4 cm (110 3/4 x 186 in.) Widener Collection 1942.9.452 |
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Court painter to Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour, François Boucher (1703-1770) supplied a full-scale design or “cartoon” for Beauvais’ weavers to follow in creating this large tapestry. Boucher’s signature and the date 1751 appear reversed in the lower right corner.
The cartoon was woven three times at Beauvais. Boucher derived the scene from Armida, an opera that premiered in 1686 with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully and libretto by Philippe Quinault. The composer and playwright, in turn, based their story on Jerusalem Delivered, an epic poem about the Crusades that the Italian author Torquato Tasso had published in 1581.
Rinaldo, a Christian hero, sleeps in the enchanted garden of the sorceress Armida, who sided with the Saracens. Nymphs and cupids—companions of Venus, the classical goddess of love—play amid fluffy rococo foliage watered by a dolphin-shaped fountain, itself a symbol of Venus’ birth from the sea. As an indication that the dreaming Rinaldo will awaken from Armida's seductive spell and lead the crusaders to victory, he holds his plumed helmet.
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