Decorative arts

The Charlatan/The Magic Lantern

1 of 2

Type: Decorative arts(Opens in new tab)
Date: ca. 1738-1754
Accession number: 27.127
Makers: Beauvais Tapestry Manufactory(Opens in new tab) (French, 1664–1664); and Nicolas Besnier(Opens in new tab); or under the directorship of André Charlemagne Charron(Opens in new tab) (French, 1757–1780); Under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Oudry(Opens in new tab) (French, 1686–1755)
Designer: designed by François Boucher(Opens in new tab) (French, 1703–1770)
Dimensions: 107 1/2 x 194 1/2 in. (273.1 x 494 cm.)
Medium: wool and silk; modern linen support straps, dust bands, and linings
Description: This tapestry is part of a set of five tapestries portraying Italian village scenes. It portrays two main scenes in an outdoor setting with Classical ruins. In the first one, a traveling salesman in oriental garb shows his wares. In the second one, a woman engages in a peep show looking through a hole in a wooden structure, helped by a young man standing in front of her and her child.
Credit: The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. The Arabella D. Huntington Memorial Art Collection.
Department: European Art
Find out more: View in the Art Museum catalog(Opens in new tab)

Label text

Boucher was already well established as a painter, engraver, and theatrical designer when he turned his talents to tapestry in the 1730s. This suite of five tapestries was inspired by his travels in rural Italy. Boucher designed six suites of tapestries for the Beauvais Manufactory over two decades. The Italian Village Scenes was his first suite; an example of his last suite, The Noble Pastorale, hangs downstairs in the Large Library.

The Charlatan/The Magic Lantern

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