Firescreen panel

Art Historical Context

This elegant firescreen panel, created by the celebrated French designer Philippe dealle between 1774 and 1793, exemplifies the refined taste of late eighteenth-century France. Woven and embroidered in silk on silk, the panel features delicate garlands and floral motifs that would have softened the glow of a fireplace while adding beauty to an aristocratic interior. Its modest size—just under two feet high—made it both practical and portable, a common feature in well-appointed salons of the period. De Lasalle, a master of Lyon’s renowned silk industry, brought exceptional artistry to functional objects like this one. His designs often blended naturalistic floral elements with a sense of lightness and movement, reflecting the transition from Rococo exuberance toward the cleaner lines of Neoclassicism. The use of silk embroidery on a silk ground highlights the luxurious materials favored by French workshops, where technical skill transformed everyday furnishings into works of art. Today, this piece in the Metropolitan Museum’s collection reminds us how textiles once played a vital role in shaping the ambiance of elegant homes, merging utility with poetic decoration.

About the Artist

Philippe de Lasalle · 1723–1804

Philippe de Lasalle (1723–1804) was born on September 2 in the small town of Seyssel in the Ain department of France, the son of a local finance official. Orphaned at just one year old, he was raised by relatives and moved to Lyon at age fourteen to live with an uncle. There, he began his artistic training as an apprentice to the painter Daniel Sarrabat, a prominent Lyonnais figure known for instr...