The Swing, The Harvest, and Cherry Picking from a set of the Pastorals with Blue Draperies
designed ca. 1780, woven ca. 1782–90
Medium
Wool, silk (21 warps per inch, 8 per cm.)
Dimensions
11 ft. 8 in. × 19 ft. 3 in. (355.6 × 586.7 cm)
Classification
Textiles-Tapestries
Culture
French, Beauvais
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Byron C. Foy, 1953
Accession Number
53.211
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the grandeur of *The Swing, The Harvest and Cherry Picking*, a magnificent tapestry panel from the *Pastorals with Blue Drap* series, produced by the renowned Beauvais manufactory in France. Designed 1780 by Jean Huet I de Menou and woven between 1782 and 1790, this wool-and-silk masterpiece measures an impressive 11 feet 8 inches by 19 feet 3 inchesperfect for adorning the walls of opulent châteaux or salons. Huet, a leading painter of idyllic rural scenes influenced by the Rococo elegance of François Boucher, captures the joys of country life in vibrant vignettes: children swinging p...