Getty Museum

Tapestry: Vénus sortant des eaux, from Les Tentures de François Boucher Series

Date

1775–1776

Medium

Wool and silk; modern linen lining

Culture

French

Department

Decorative Arts

Institution

Getty Museum

In this tapestry, one of a set of four, Venus rises from turbulent waters in the center roundel. Artists in the 1700s based this popular subject on various writings from ancient Greece and Rome. The roundel imitates a painting set in an oval frame, complete with François Boucher's signature on a rock. The scene is also inscribed with *1766,* the date the design or cartoon was produced, rather than the year the tapestry was woven. Exotic birds, floral garlands, and a musical ornament in the center decorate the *alentours* or border, which was narrower than others in the set in order to fit the shorter wall of a room.

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