The Gobelins tapestry works
Sébastien II Leclerc (1637-1714)
Plan of the Hôtel Royal des Gobelins
1691
Plume, encre de Chine et aquarelle
Paris, Archives nationales de France
You can now see a plan of the Royal Manufactory of Gobelins dating from 1691, which comes from the National Archives.
This is a remarkable document! It is one of only two plans of the tapestry works in existence; the other is in the Musée Carnavalet. The plan displayed here shows the royal buildings before the modifications and enlargements made in the 19th century.
The director’s apartment is in the centre of the tapestry works, between the "main courtyard" and the "small courtyard", where you can see the grey slate roof. Called the "Clock Pavilion", or "May Pavilion", this building is surrounded by two gardens. It was in this residence that Le Brun died in 1690.
Preceding the Clock Pavilion on the left, the wing of the director’s apartment is composed of an exhibition gallery on the ground floor and a "large communal gallery" upstairs. While the vast wing that runs along the right-hand side of the "main courtyard" housed Le Brun’s main assistants. The workshops and accommodation for the weavers are along the Bièvre river, at the very top of the plan.
