The Gobelins Manufactory
Remontons le cours de l’Histoire...
Let’s take a little journey back in time....
It all began in 1662, in the reign of Louis XIV. Jean-Baptiste Colbert, then Superintendant of Finance, acquired the works and the adjacent grounds to build a manufactory. Colbert was in fact bringing together several craft workshops then known as "manufactures" which were scattered throughout Paris, such as Jean Lefebvre’s workshop in the Garden of the Tuileries and the Savonnerie carpet manufacture.
Colbert’s aim was to decorate the king’s palace sumptuously, whilst avoiding the importation of luxury articles. To this end he established an industry in the service of the Crown, capable of making these products in France. Colbert called upon the most highly qualified French and European artisans: painters, sculptors, gold and silversmiths, cabinetmakers and up to 250 lissiers or master tapestry weavers.
It was on the work of tapestry, manufactured to a high degree of perfection in the 17th century, that the reputation of the Gobelins was chiefly built. Famous cycles were made there, such as The Battles of Alexander, The Seasons, The Child Gardeners and The Elements. All the cartoons for these tapestries were painted by the studio of the First Painter to the King, Charles Le Brun.
Furthermore, when Le Brun took over the direction of the Gobelins in 1664, he thoroughly overhauled the way the establishment operated. He divided the tapestry studios into three high-warp workshops and two low-warp workshops, and surrounded himself with famous painters who devoted their time to creating the cartoons. All the workers lived on site, so Le Brun, himself accommodated in the middle of the Works, had technical advice available to him on a daily basis.
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