Decorative arts

The Bird Catchers

1 of 3

Type: Decorative arts(Opens in new tab)
Date: 1757-1760
Accession number: 9.4
Makers: Beauvais Tapestry Manufactory(Opens in new tab) (French, 1664–1664); under the directorship of André Charlemagne Charron(Opens in new tab) (French, 1757–1780)
After: Commissioned by Jean-Baptiste Oudry(Opens in new tab) (French, 1686–1755)
Designer: designed by François Boucher(Opens in new tab) (French, 1703–1770)
Dimensions: 130 x 228 in. (330.2 x 579.1 cm.)
Medium: wool and silk with linen lining
Description: The tapestry shows young, fashionable couples in the act of catching birds in front of the ruins of the ancient Temple of Vesta, the Roman goddess of the hearth in Roman mythology.
Credit: The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
Department: European Art
Find out more: View in the Art Museum catalog(Opens in new tab)

Label text

This set of five tapestries was woven by order of the French crown on behalf of Louis XV. The pastoral scenes, depicting pleasurable outdoor activities such as picnics and music-making, were popular subjects among the French elite. The Beauvais manufactory wove thirteen separate commissions of full or partial sets of The Noble Pastoral, but today The Huntington’s set is the only one to remain intact. Purchased by Henry Huntington in 1909, at Arabella’s request, they were his first major expenditure on art.

The Bird Catchers

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