Stargazer
1750/1800
Medium
Linen and silk, satin weave with brocading wefts bound in twill interlacings
Dimensions
101.4 × 55.3 cm (39 7/8 × 21 3/4 in.)
Classification
textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
150155
Art Historical Context
**Stargazer** by Philippe de La Salle (c. 1750–1800) is a stunning example of 18th-century French luxury textiles, crafted from linen and silk using a sophisticated satin weave with brocading wefts bound in tw interlacings. Measuring 101.4 × 55.3 cm, this panel from the Art Institute of Chicago Textiles Department likely served as a fashionable shawl, garment fragment, or decorative furnishing. The title evokes a figure gazing skyward, capturing the era's fascination with astronomy amid the Enlightenment's scientific wonders. De La Salle, a renowned designer from Lyon—Europe's silk-weaving ca...