Pictorial print
Unknown Artist
1780–85
Medium
Linen
Dimensions
L. 79 x W. 53 inches 200.7 x 134.6 cm
Classification
Textiles-Printed
Culture
French, possibly Jouy-en-Josas
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Sloane Coffin, 1926
Accession Number
26.265.40
Tags
Art Historical Context
This expansive pictorial print on linen, in France around 1780–85, measures an impressive 79 by inches, making it ideal for furnishing grand interiors like curtains or upholstery. Likely produced in Jouy-en-Josas, a hub for innovative textile printing near Paris, it exemplifies the era's "toile de Jou" style—vibrant, scenic designs printed in a single color on a white ground. The motif of ships evokes France's maritime prowess during the late Ancien Régime, a of naval expansion and trade before the Revolution. Printed textiles like this one revolutionized decorative arts through copperplate ...