La Marchande d'Amour (The Merchant of Love) (Furnishing Fabric)
1815/17
Medium
Cotton, plain weave; engraved roller printed
Dimensions
99 × 95.2 cm (39 × 37 1/2 in.); Warp repeat: H.: 49.8 cm (19 3/4 in.)
Classification
textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
25271
Art Historical Context
This furnishing fabric, titled *La Marchande d’Amour* ( Merchant of Love), was created by Louis Hippolyte LaBas between 181 and 1817.oven in plain-weave cotton and printed using the engraved roller technique, the textile measures roughly 99 by 95 centimeters with a repeating pattern every 50 centimeters. Such mechanically printed cottons marked a significant shift in textile production during the early Industrial Revolution, allowing detailed imagery to be reproduced quickly and affordably for household use. The romantic title suggests a scene drawn from popular visual culture of the period, ...