Manufacture Royale d'Aubusson d'après Jean-Baptiste Huet - Tapestry - 2.3 m - 1.38 m - Hunting halt scene

Tapestry from Aubusson in the 18th century – Hunting halt scene

Beautiful Aubusson tapestry in wool and silk, datable to the 18th century, depicting a hunting halt scene in front of a rustic dwelling.
In the foreground, a couple of hunters converse. One of them, dressed in a red embroidered coat, presents freshly captured game, while a lady seated, elegantly dressed, listens while holding a pastoral staff.
On the left, a hunting companion fires at a flying bird, accompanied by a trained dog.

The background shows a stone country house, nestled in a leafy landscape with fresh foliage, typical of the French verdure of the century. The scene illustrates the narrative and amiable spirit dear to the Aubusson manufactories.

The attribution of this tapestry to the circle of painter-cartoonists active in Aubusson in the second half of the 18th century, notably around Jacques-Nicolas Julliard and Pierre Dumonsil, is warranted by several concordant characteristics.

As in Moulin de Charenton (evoked by Chevalier, p. 147-148, Les Tapisseries d'Aubusson et de Felletin), one finds here:

• a monumental rural house occupying the center of the composition, articulated around a staircase, timber framing and picturesque volumes;
• a lively foreground of elegantly dressed figures, whose narrative attitude: halt, conversation, presentation of the game, corresponds to the amiable theatricality of the Amusements champêtres;
• a landscape writing made of flexible leafy masses, characteristic of the cartoons supplied to Aubusson after 1755.

In both works, rustic architecture is not mere scenery but a narrative hub, around which the relations between hunting, sociability, and noble leisure are built.

This iconographic kinship, coupled with the treatment of the landscape and the figures, allows us to place our tapestry in the same tradition as Moulin de Charenton, i.e., in the pastoral language disseminated at Aubusson under the influence of Huet and Boucher, relayed by Julliard and by the local painters who assisted him.
Thus, although a precise disappeared cartoon cannot be named, the stylistic and thematic coherence allows a convincing rapprochement with this group of works, confirming an attribution to the Aubusson circle active between 1755 and 1780.

A fine decorative example of Aubusson production, blending elegant landscape, picturesque architecture, and the narration of country courtesy.

The tapestry is in good condition in its lower part. In the upper part, some weaknesses in the silks are visible in the photographs.

Provenance: private collection.