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“Fables of Fontaine” Furnishing Fabric

A work made of cotton; roller printed.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of cotton; roller printed.

Date:

c. 1815

Artist:

Manufactured by Hartmann et Fils (French, founded 1776)
Drawings from “Fables Choisies” written by Jean de la Fontaine (French, 1621-1695); published by Desaint et Saillant (French, 18th century) and Durand (French, 18th century); engraved by Jean Ouvrier (French, 1725-1754); illustrations designed by Jean-Baptiste Oudry (French, 1686-1755)

About this artwork

The late 18th and early 19th centuries were an incredibly fertile period for innovation in the European textile industries, especially in the field of direct printing. Decades of experimentation led to the development of a variety of ways to apply color and pattern to cloth, which enabled artists and designers to invent new design vocabularies and quickly respond to cultural trends and ideas. One of the most enduring of these innovations was the ability to print on cloth with copperplates and then subsequently with engraved copper metal rollers. The quality of detail achieved through this method was unrivaled in terms of clarity, precision.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Textiles

Artists

Hartmann et Fils (Manufacturer) , Jean de La Fontaine , Desaint et Saillant, chez (Publisher) , Durand (Publisher) , Jean Ouvrier (Engraver) , Jean-Baptiste Oudry

Title

“Fables of Fontaine” Furnishing Fabric

Place

France (Artist's nationality:)

Date

c. 1815

Medium

Cotton; roller printed

Dimensions

316.2 × 85.1 cm (124 1/2 × 33 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Elizabeth M. Schultz Endowment Fund

Reference Number

2020.213

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/256789/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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