TEFAF 2014 - Galerie Chevalier

TEFAF 2014
TEFAF
Maastricht
2014
Tel.: +33 (0)1 42 60 72 68
[email protected]
www.galerie-chevalier.com
Seen from the outside, the gallery gives no hint of its interior, a succession of three exhibition rooms, which lead to a patio decorated
with Syrian panelling. The last room, “The Chapel”, contains the vestiges of the ancient chapel of the Abbaye des Théatins.
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Galerie Chevalier located on quai Voltaire, in the heart of the Carré Rive Gauche (Paris left bank), is specialised in
antique, modern and contemporary tapestries, Oriental and European rugs, and archaeological textiles.
Galerie Chevalier: a family business...
The gallery’s raison d’être, as with all antiques dealers, is to seek out quality pieces for its clients, an aim every member
of the family endeavours to meet, in his or her own special area of interest.
The gallery displays tapestries from the late 15th to the 21st centuries, mainly from Flanders and France.
The places of origin of the rugs and carpets read like a register of villages in Caucasia or of great Persian cities. Large
Savonnerie and Aubusson carpets are also displayed. The Galerie Chevalier also deals with Coptic textiles (Egypt,
4th–12th centuries) and pre-Colombian textiles (before 1492).
Since 2001, the Galerie Chevalier has diversified its activities and created a company to include the manufacture and
sale of special-edition rugs. Combining modernity designs with traditional craftsmanship, Parsua rugs are the Haute
Couture of the carpet world (www.cbparsua.com).
An imperative for all lovers of tapestries and textiles in general, the Galerie Chevalier was founded in 1980. Since 1984,
the gallery has been located at its current address, on quai Voltaire, where we welcome a clientele of private individuals,
collectors, museum curators and interior designers from all over the world.
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Le Repas de Psyché dans le palais de l’Amour
Psyche’s Meal in Cupid’s Palace
A Paris tapestry, Faubourg St Germain workshop
17 th century, circa 1660
Central composition after a design by Pieter Coecke d’Aelst (1502 -1550)
Border designed by Michel Corneille (1603 - 1654)
Finely woven in wool and silk (wool warp, wool and silk weft)
H.2,87 m x W.3,70 m / H.9ft 5 x W.12ft 2
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We find the tale of Psyche not in Ovid’s Metamorphoses but
in the Golden Ass, or Metamorphoses by Lucius Apuleius. The
myth relates the misadventure of a princess whose great beauty
aroused the jealousy of the goddess Venus. The princess’s
loveliness was such that a rumour spread in neighbouring cities
that a new Venus had come down with mortal men.
Jupiter finally listened to Cupid’s entreaties and consented to the
marriage: Psyche was married to Cupid, and in due time she
bore him her child, a daughter whose name was Voluptuousness.
Thus ends this enchanting legend which has inspired so many
artists from Raphael to F.Boucher by way of Peter Coecke van
Aelst (1502– 1550), Molière and Lully.
The real Venus was obviously enraged by this. She asked her
son Cupid to avenge the injury done to her by Psyche, but Cupid
fell in love with Psyche. He had her brought to his palace and
visited her under cover of darkness and made her promise never
to try to see his face; any sacrilegious curiosity would lead to
her losing him. However urged on by her sisters, Psyche was
unable to resist satisfying her curiosity. Cupid fled and Psyche
had to face the vengeance of Venus who subjected her to many
torments and hard tasks.
The Mobilier National in Paris, The Musée National du Château
de Pau, The Musée National du Château de Fontainebleau, the
Château de Sully sur Loire and the Palais de Justice (Laws courts)
in Orleans all have in their collections tapestries based on the
story of Psyche that were woven in the 17th century after 16th
century models by Peter Coecke van Aelst.
References:
Apulée – Livre V.3 et V.4
J. Vittet – 2009 – pp 63 à 77
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Jeunes filles au lévrier
Young Girls with Hound
A Spanish tapestry, Madrid, Royal Tapestry Manufactory
20 th century - 1926
The bottom, right corner bears the initials RFT
(Real Fabrica de Tapices), the name of the cartoon
painter, Manuel Benedito y Vives (1875 - 1963) and the
date of weaving: 1926
Finely woven (wool warp, wool, silk and precious metals
threads weft)
H. 2,00 m x W. 2,00 m / H. 6ft 7 x W. 6ft 7
Manuel Benedito y Vives, the favourite pupil of Joaquín
Sorolla (1863 - 1923), was appointed artistic adviser
to the Royal Tapestry Manufactury in Madrid in 1918,
a position he used to enhance the prestige of the art
of tapestry in Spain.
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L ’Offrande à Pan
The Offering to Pan
Manufacture Royale de Beauvais (France)
Part of the Grotesques à Fond Jaune series,
after Jean Baptiste Monnoyer (1634 -1699),
inspired by Jean Bérain (1640 - 1711)
Louis XIV period, very early 18 th century, circa 1700 - 1710
Wool warp (8 to 9 threads per cm), wool and silk weft
H. 2,68 m x W. 2,28 m / H. 8ft 9 ½ x W. 7ft 9
The Grotesques on a Yellow Background series, with
six subjects, was woven in Beauvais as of 1689. This
extremely decorative series met with great success and
was woven with nine different borders designs: “aux
Chinois” border and borders imitating different styles
of picture-frame mouldings. All of the major museums in
United States, Europe and France have one or several
tapestries from this series.
References:
N. de Pazzis-Chevalier - 2002 - Fig.2
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Le Triomphe de Titus et Vespasien
The Triumph of Titus and Vespasian
A Brussels tapestry, third quarter of the 17 th century
After Charles Pœrson (1609 - 1667)
The tapestry bears the mark of Brussels (a red shield flanked with two “B”s, for Brussels and Brabant) and
the name of the weaver, Guillaume van Leefdael (active from 1650 to 1684)
Finely woven in wool and silk (wool warp, wool and silk weft)
H. 3,75 m x W. 5,88 m / H. 12ft 4 x W.19ft 5
Vespasian (bearded) and his son Titus (beardless) are
sitting on the chariot of victory, followed by a throng
of prisoners.
The movement of the crowd contrasts with the hieratic
attitude of Vespasian and the static monuments. The
scene takes place on a background of temples. The
architecture is rich in detail, e.g., the different orders of
columns: Ionic, Corinthian and Doric. The cold stone
and marble are counterbalanced by the rich fabrics,
the splendour of the drapery and the light reflecting
off the silver vases. The elation of the triumph contrasts
with the prisoners’ sadness.
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The size of the tapestry allows the subjects to be
almost life size. On the left, the futur emperor’s chariot
is part of a pyramidal composition while on the right
the columns form vertical lines.
The entire composition is circumscribed by a
magnificent border composed of flowers, acanthus
leaves and birds. A medallion, in the middle of the
upper border, bears an inscription in Latin describing
the series: HISTORIA TITI ET VESPASIANI (The Story
of Titus and Vespasian).
References:
G. Delmarcel – 1999 – tapestry repr. p. 249
notice sur Guillaume van Leefdael p. 366,
N. de Reyniès – 1997 – tapestry repr. p.181
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Manufacture Royale d’Aubusson, Picon’s workshop
18 th century, circa 1770
A rare set of four tapestries from the Chinese Series also called
the Second Chinese Series
After François Boucher (1703 - 1770) and Jean Joseph Dumons
(1687 - 1779)
Woven in wool and silk (wool warp, wool and silk weft)
The Far East theme was widely used in European decorative
arts for more than a century. At the end of the 17th century,
the painters J.B. Belin de Fontenay, J.B. Monnoyer and G.
Vernansal provided the Manufacure Royale de Beauvais
with cartoons for a first Chinese series, The Story of the
Emperor of China, later referred to as the First Chinese
Series.
Many years later, in 1743, François Boucher, designed
a second Chinese set for the Manufacture Royale de
Beauvais. The lovely “modelli” by Boucher (oil on canvas),
which are now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Besançon
(France), were adapted for tapestries by Dumons who
painted the cartoons (the full scale models of tapestries
used by the weavers).
Some 20 years later, Dumons painted cartoons adapted
from Boucher’s work for the Manufacture Royale
d’Aubusson. Both pairs of tapestries presented by Galerie
Chevalier are wonderful examples of the period’s taste for
the exoticism of the Far East.
The Musée du Louvre and the Château de Compiègne
have tapestries from the Second Chinese Series woven in
the Manufacture Royale d’Aubusson.
All four tapestries were exhibited during the Aubusson,
tapisseries des Lumières exhibition which took place from
June 15th to October 30th, 2013, at the Musée de la
tapisserie d’Aubusson.
References:
Bertrand, 2013 repr. pp 102, fig. 76 et 103, fig. 77
Chevalier – Bertrand – 1988 – pp 112 à 117
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La Foire Chinoise dite aussi
la Princesse à l’oiseau
The Fair also called
The Princess with a bird
H. 2,30 m x W.1,01 m / H. 7ft 7 x W. 3ft 4
Les Pêcheurs
The Fishermen
H. 2,30 m x W. 0,92 m / H. 7ft 7 x W. 3ft ½
La Chasse chinoise ou l’Oiseleur
The Chinese Hunt also called The Bird Catcher
H. 2,30 m x W.1,96 m / H. 7ft 7 x W. 6ft 5½
Le Jardin Chinois ou la Toilette de la Sultane
The Chinese Garden also called The Sultaness’ toilet
H. 2,30 m x W. 1,53 m / H. 7ft 7 x W. 5ft
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Forest Coat
Tapestry created and woven by the American
artist Jon Eric Riis
Silk weft, cotton warp and crystal beads
This piece was inspired by the 16th century
“Cabbage leaves” motif.
A unique piece, 2005
H. 0,79 m x W. 1,70 m / H. 2ft 7 x W. 5ft 7
The works of the artist abound in references to the myths, beliefs and
ideals of past cultures. He created a costume, a slightly flaring coat with
long, wide sleeves, which is not meant to be worn.
The artist knows the importance of clothing in different cultures and in
different periods.
Riis creates his own cartoons and weaves himself, on a high warp loom.
He is almost obsessively involved in every step of the fabrication of his
works. He uses a cotton warp, often five threads per centimetre, and
is very fond of mixing silk and metallic threads in his compositions. He
uses very subtle shadings of colours to sharpen his stunning images. He
embellishes the works with crystals beads.
Since 1996, Jon Eric Riis has participated in more than fifty exhibitions
across the globe: the United States, Canada, Peru, Ireland, Germany,
Belgium, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland and Korea and in Paris, at the
Galerie Chevalier since 2011.
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The tapestry works of Jon Eric Riis can be found in the collections of the
most prestigious museums in America:
- Metropolitan Museum, New York, New York
- Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio
- American Museum of Art and Design, New York, New York
- Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum,
Washington, DC
- Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota
- Columbia Museum of Art, South Carolina
- Atlanta Museum of Art and Design, Georgia
- Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana
Mille-fleurs ornée de l’Allégorie de la Charité
Mille-Fleurs with Allegory of Charity
Exceptional and rare Flemish tapestry,
attributed to Brussels
16 th century, circa 1525
Wool warp (8 threads per cm), wool, silk and precious
metal threads for the weft
H. 2,37 m x W. 1,75 m / H. 7ft 10 x W. 5ft 9
On a mille-fleurs motif that is not repetitive, as is usually the
case, against a deep blue background, stands the gracious
figure of Charity. Each species in the mille-fleur motif seems
to be identifiable, which is why this rare work is a fascinating
research subject for specialists in botany and symbolism.
The allegorical representation of Charity with children
is typical of the Renaissance. She is holding one of her
attributes, a large cornucopia, from which fruit are pouring
out.
The central composition is framed by a border comprised
of fruits, unarranged flowers, cups and grotesques, which
became very popular as of the end of the 15th century.
The tapestry was probably part of an allegorical series with
representations of other virtues such as Faith and Hope.
The threads of precious metal in the weave give the
admirable draped, red garment a touch of radiance.
Tapestries “woven with gold threads” were ordered by highranking individuals.
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Bahia la Rouge
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An Aubusson tapestry (France), Goubely’s workshop
20 th century, circa 1955
After a cartoon by Jean Lurçat (1892 - 1966)
Woven in wool and cotton (cotton warp, wool weft)
Signature of the cartoon artist and workshop mark appear in the
lower left corner
Reference label on the back of the tapestry
H. 1,50 x 2,46 m / H. 4ft 11 x W. 8ft 1
The woven work of Jean Lurçat is substantial. The artist is of international
renown; his name is associated with the renaissance of French tapestry
in the post-war era. He is the most important cartoon painter of the 20th
century. Many books have been written on his work.
References:
Denizeau, 2013
Une paire de tapisseries exotiques
à décor de bananiers, de palmiers
et de fleurs oiseaux de Paradis
Exceptional pair of tapestries with an
exotic decor of banana & palm trees,
and a bird of Paradise flowers
Probably woven in France
End of the 19 th or beginning of the 20 th century
Cotton warp (6 warps threads per cm),
wool weft
The technique alternates between, slit and
interlocking weaving, which provide softness and
strength to the weaving
Each panel measures:
H. 4,00 m x W.1,85 m / H.13ft 2 x W. 6ft 1
Research concerning this exceptional pair of
tapestries is still in progress; the representation
of the flora seems very accurate. The scientific
name of the bird of paradise flowers is Strelitzia
reginae.
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Feuilles de choux à l’éléphant et aux animaux
A large leaf verdure tapestry with
an elephant and animals
La Marche workshops, Aubusson district (France)
Second half of the 16 th century
wool warp, wool and silk weft
H. 2,68 m x L.1,91m / H. 8ft 10 x W. 6ft 3
Large leaf verdure tapestries appear during the 16th
century; They were very popular mainly during the
second part of the century. They were woven in Flanders
and in France (Aubusson area). Usually the name of the
cartoonist painter is unknown.
The composition has three levels:
- in the upper part of the tapestry, the sky, which is woven
in narrow horizontals strips, and a landscape.
- In the middle part of the tapestry, the top of the cabbage
leaves and several birds.
- the lower part of the composition is completely covered
with the giant leaves in the centre of which there is what
appears to be an apple tree. At the bottom, on the right,
there is a grey elephant and, on the left, two lions with
Chinese-like faces. The tapestry is an important fragment
with a very interesting composition.
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Succint bibliographic references
• Lucius Apuleus, vers 161 AD, L’Ane d’or ou les Métamorphoses
(traduction du Latin vers le Français par Pierre Grimal) - Editions Folio 1992
• Pascal-François Bertrand, 2013 - Aubusson, tapisseries des lumières,
splendeurs de la Manufacture Royale, fournisseur de l’Europe au XVIIIe
siècle, publié à l’occasion de l’exposition éponyme (Aubusson, 15 juin -
31 octobre 2013)
• Dominique Chevalier - P. Chevalier - P.F. Bertrand - 1988 -
Les Tapisseries d’Aubusson et Felletin
• Amelie-Margot Chevalier, 2013 - Les Artistes de la Demeure, Hommage
à Denise Majorel
• Guy Delmarcel, 1999 - La Tapisserie flamande
• Gérard Denizeau, 2013 - Jean Lurçat
• Nicole de Pazzis-Chevalier, 2002 - Quand Grotesque signifie fantaisie,
charme et séduction
• Nicole de Reyniès,1997 - dans Charles Poerson (1609 - 1667)
Catalogue de l’exposition présentée à Metz en 1997 - Co-auteurs :
Babara Brejon de Lavergnée et Nicolas Ste Fare-Garnot.
• Jean Vittet, 2009 - La Tenture de l’histoire de Psyché de François Premier
dans Psyché au miroir d’Azay - Catalogue de l’exposition au château
d’Azay- le- Rideau 20 mai - 30 août 2009
Credits
Legends for antique tapestries:
Nicole de Pazzis-Chevalier
Legends for modern & contemporary tapestries:
Amélie-Margot Chevalier
Graphic design:
Simon Delart
Tapestrie pictures:
Landowski & Ferrier, Saïd Issouf
Picture p.2:
Virginie Sueres
Rugs: Parsua, La Haute Couture du Tapis / www.cbparsua.com
Special thanks to Dominique Chevalier
and Céline Letessier
References
The Galerie Chevalier has exhibited pieces which have been acquired by
museums and foundations across the world.
France
Musée du Louvre, Paris et The Louvre, Abou Dhabi
Musée National de la Renaissance, Ecouen
Musée National du Moyen Age (Cluny)
Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, Paris
Musée de l’Orangerie
Musée de l’Hospice Comtesse, Lille
Musée du Château de Sedan
Musée Labenche, Brive
Musée Fenaille, Rodez
Musée des Beaux Arts de Saint-Lô
Musée du Tapis d’Art, Clermont-Ferrand
Musée Départemental de la Tapisserie, Aubusson
Musée du Château de Chambord
Mobilier National
Château de Chinon
Château de Chaumont
Château d’Azay-le-Rideau
Château Royal de Blois
Principauté de Monaco
Ville d’Angers
Caisse nationale des monuments historiques et des sites
Europe
Musée de Bruges, Belgium
Région de la Flandre Orientale, Gant, Belgium
Fondation d’Art Moderne & Textile, Antwerpen, Belgium
Musée du Château de Wawel, Cracow, Poland
Deutshes Historisches Museum, Berlin, Germany
Abegg Stiffung, Riggisberg, Switzerland
The Vilnius Museum of Fine Arts, Lituania
United States
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Museum of Fine Arts, St Petersburg, Florida
The Menil Foundation, Houston
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
The Seattle Art Museum (SAM)
The Cleveland Museum of Art
The Art Institute of Chicago
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Antique, Modern & Contemporary Tapestries
European and Oriental Rugs - Archeological Textiles
17, quai Voltaire 75007 PARIS
Tel.: +33 (0)1 42 60 72 68
[email protected] / www.galerie-chevalier.com

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