ca.
1705-1710 |
ca. 1720s |
ca. 1725-1735 |
ca. 1750s |
ca. 1765-1770 |
ca. 1765-1775 |
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ca. 1775-1780 |
ca.
1785-1790 |
|
Early
eighteenth century silk design is marked by the evolution of
textile motifs towards greater naturalism. While floral ornamentation
had consistently appeared in Medieval and Renaissance silk decoration,
these forms were heavily stylized. Semi-naturalistic flowers
begin to appear about 1700, after which a tendency towards more
naturalistic forms accelerated until the middle of the century.
The beginning of the eighteenth century is also noted for the
production of "Bizarre Silk,"
named for the asymmetrical arrangement of exotic motifs and
odd color combinations. The resulting informality of "Bizarre
Silk" patterns greatly complemented the increasing naturalism
in silk design.
During
the 1730s, an entirely new style developed marking a dramatic
shift in French silk design. Silks of the 1730s are characterized
by large and completely naturalistic
fruits and flowers often depicted in relief. This new
style can be linked to the beginning of the career of Jean
Revel (1684-1751), one of the most renowned and technically
sophisticated Lyonnais silk designers. Revel and other contemporary
silk designers also focused considerable attention on how
textile motifs were rendered in thread. Instead of depicting
flat, single colored motifs, designers of the 1730s conceived
motifs more three-dimensional in appearance through shading
or gently blending contrasting shades of color.
Having
developed naturalism to its fullest extent in the 1730s, silk
designs of the 1740s and early 1750s returned to a more stylized
manner of depicting forms, a trend that continued through
the end of the century. The scale of fruits and flowers also
diminished and silk designers played with a lighter composition
by organizing meanders of flowers, ribbon, lace or fur patterns
across the fabric. While meanders
of the 1740s tend to flow more freely through the space
of the fabric, meanders of the early
1750s are more static in nature. The lighthearted charm
and vigor that develops in silk designs during the 1740s is
characteristic of mid-eighteenth century Rococo silk production.
Although
the designs are not as stiff as their predecessors, silks
of the late 1750s and the 1760s are designed with a similar
formula of meanders and smaller, stylized motifs. Meanders
of this period are commonly arranged parallel to one another
creating an asymmetry across the vertical axis of the fabric.
This contrasts greatly with the rigid vertical symmetry employed
in silk designs of the 1740s and early 1750s. The 1750s also
marks the beginning of the career of Phillip Lasalle (1723-1804),
another extremely successful Lyonnais silk designer who is
credited with being the first to utilize the
fur patterns that were extremely popular in the late 1750s
and 1760s.
Owing
significantly to the rediscovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum
in 1748, neo-classical themes became increasing influential
in textile design at the end of the eighteenth century. While
small, stylized flowers remained,
the meanders that were popular in earlier decades were gradually
replaced by straight lines beginning in the 1760s. During
the late 1760s and 1770s meanders
scattered with floral motifs curled above or between rows
of stripes. By the middle of the 1770s, the floral motifs
that were once contained within meanders were now dispersed
across or within stripes creating a stiffer
composition that contrasts greatly with the airy designs
that were popular earlier in the century.
Elizabeth St-George
Guest Curator
|
ca.
1700-1725 |
ca. 1730s |
ca. 1735-1745 |
ca. 1760s |
ca. 1770-1775 |
ca.
1760-1765 |
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ca.
1775-1780 |
ca.
1790-1840 |
|
.jpg)
