Equipment Used for Making Silk Textiles
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Mrs. George A. Kubler
Accession Number
1949-152-182
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Louis-Jacques Goussier’s print “Equipment Used for Making Silk Textiles,” created around 1775, offers a detailed glimpse into the mechanical processes behind one of the eighteenth century’s most prized industries. As a French illustrator active during the Enlightenment, Goussier contributed numerous technical drawings to Denis Diderot’s Encyclopédie, a monumental project that sought to record and democratize knowledge of the arts and trades. This work, now in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, exemplifies the period’s fascination with precision and utility, translating complex machinery into...