Tapestry; Aubusson; 18th century.

Tapestry; Aubusson; 18th century.
"Gallant scene".
Wool and silk.
Measurements: 260 x 200 cm.
The tapestry presents a scene of courtly and narrative character, in which two figures interact within a space conceived almost as a stage. A wide gathered curtain acts as a scenographic frame, concentrating the attention on the core of the action. The male character, interpreted as a fortune teller, maintains a measured and introspective attitude while holding the hand of the female figure, whose distinguished pose and expectant expression intensify the symbolic dimension of the encounter. Both characters are dressed in classicist-inspired clothing, with elegantly treated pleats, standing out against an architectural background that provides a sense of depth and compositional order. Surrounding the scene, a rich border of intertwined vegetal and floral motifs introduces a continuous decorative rhythm that accentuates the ornamental character of the tapestry.
The chromatic palette, together with the subtle gradation of light and shadow achieved through the weaving, demonstrates the technical excellence of Aubusson's workshops in the 18th century. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Aubusson workshops specialized in vegetable tapestries (with eminently floral decoration), but the situation changed radically when, in the middle of the 17th century, this center was reorganized by Jean-Baptiste Colbert, minister of Louis XIV, with the aim of converting these workshops into royal manufactories. He then subjected the Aubusson and Felletin workshops to a guild regulation and, in exchange, promised to provide them with a painter and a dyer. This promise, however, would not become effective until the 18th century, a turning point for the workshops of La Marche, which would see a considerable increase in the quality of their tapestries by being able to count on a painter dedicated to making cartons and a dyer who would produce dyes of a higher quality than those used until then.