Panel Entitled "The Pheasants" from the "Verdures of the Vatican" Series, 1783/89
Silk, satin weave with plain interlacings of secondary binding warps and brocading wefts; embroidered with silk in chain (tambour work) and satin stitches
242.5 x 44.5 cm (95 1/4 x 17 1/2 in.)
Restricted gift of Mrs. Chauncey B. Borland, 1945.12
Textiles
Not on Display
East or West, the most highly valued fabric has always been silk. From the 17th through 19th centuries, the French led Europe in the design, manufacture, and export of silk, which was used not only in garments but also in upholstering furniture and decorating interiors. The brocaded and embroidered silk panel of The Pheasants was part of a commission to decorate the interior of the Palacio Real, Madrid. The elaborate composition of this early 19th-century panel includes a lavish, symmetrical interplay of birds, baskets, strings of pearls, garlands, and ribbons, all realized with an excellence of workmanship for which the French were known.
Exhibition, Publication and Ownership Histories
Exhibition History
The Art Institute of Chicago, "Masterpieces of Western Textiles," January 25–March 2, 1969
The Art Institute of Chicago, "Selected Works of Eighteenth Century French Art in the Collections of the Art Institute of Chicago," January 24–March 28, 1976
The Art Institute of Chicago, Elizabeth F. Cheney and Agnes Allerton Textile Galleries, "European Textile Masterpieces from Coptic Times through the 19th Century," September 27, 1989–January 22, 1990
The Art Institute of Chicago, Elizabeth F. Cheney and Agnes Allerton Textile Galleries, "Flowering Silks: 18th Century Designs from the Permanent Collection—A Tribute to Mildred L. Davison (1901–1995)," June 14–October 1, 1995
The Art Institute of Chicago, Elizabeth F. Cheney and Agnes Allerton Textile Galleries, "Textile Masterpieces from the Art Institute of Chicago's Collection," February 17–May 2, 1993
Publication History
Marianne Carlano and Larry Salomon, editors. "French Textiles: From the Middle Ages through the Second Empire (Hartford, CT: Wadsworth Atheneum, 1985),
p. 65., no. 38.
Christa Charlotte Mayer. Masterpieces of Western Textiles from The Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1969), p. 112, pl. 86.
Christa C. Mayer Thurman. Textiles in The Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1992), pp. 90, 147 (illus.).
Susan Wise, ed. Selected Works of 18th Century French Art in the Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1976), pp. 208, 209 (illus.), no. 332.