If you are looking to add a special Italian flair to your home decor, then you might want to consider tapestries designed by Francois Boucher. He created a masterpiece known as Noble Pastorale series, which was a series of 6 tapestries measuring over 12 feet by 19 feet long. The series was broken up and has evolved into separate pieces of the one unifying work.
One of his most famous sections of Noble Pastorale is the Romance in the Country tapestry. It depicts a lovely country scene with couples in various stages of courtship relaxing around the lake. There are also pastorale animals mingling in with the couples. The word Pastorale denotes countryside and farmland, and originally referred to shepherds and the pasture. All of Boucher's Italian Noble Pastorale tapestries contain elements of the farm life, in its beauty and simplicity.
Another fantastic example of Boucher's work is The Children By the Lake wall hanging. Boucher captured the innocence of the children perfectly. Surrounded by the beauty of nature and the companionship of the goat, the children do not worry about anything and bask in the sunshine.
Boucher is a master at capturing emotion in his work. The Children By the Lake tapestry is just one example of his skill in this department. If you look at The Old Mill tapestry, you feel the gloom of the old mill as it decays, forgotten by the simple farmers that graze their sheep through the pasture on the other side of the lake. The atmosphere of scene denotes not only gloom, but a sense of adventure. Youngsters from his other scenes probably want to go see the inside of the old mill.
Boucher is also a master of romantic scenes. He often pictures couples wooing and courting, and they always seem to be celebrating their love for each other. All of the couples in Boucher's work appear to be bursting with joy and happiness. In the piece Romance by the Fountain, a couple reclines next to a fountain, poured by cherubs as you can see here:
http://www.european-wall-tapestries.com/store/catalog/Romance_by_the_Fountain_p_ 452.html. They are both happy and modest, beaming with love.
Women Washing By the Lake is one of Boucher's most cherished scenes. The tapestry wall hanging depicts women washing clothes with the children at the lake. It is a touching scene because they are washing and talking and life is pretty darn good. The Washing by the Lake tapestry show women and children doing hard work, but enjoying being out in the beautiful countryside by the lake.
Francois Boucher was a lover of nature in all of its forms. An excellent example of one of his true nature pieces is The Swan in the Lake tapestry wall hanging. The scene simply shows a swan floating on the surface of lake. The lake is surrounded by lush greenery and majestic mountains. You can also see part of a broken down bridge in the background, perhaps to illustrate that nature dominates all.
About the Author:
Jackie Kent is a recent History graduate with a gift of insight into art and literature. If you want to read more of her work, please visit the
Italian tapestries section.
Source:
www.isnare.com
