Armchair designed ca. 1786, woven 1790–91; chair frame second half 19th century Tapestry upholstery by Beauvais Tapestry-woven upholstery for two settees and twelve armchairs was commissioned at the same time as the wall hangings depicting the Four Continents (–.4).¹ The Four Continents was one of two suites・each including four wall tapestries and coordinating seating furniture・that were ordered from Beauvais in 1786; the subject of the other suite was to be a series illustrating the arts, sciences, agriculture, and commerce. An earlier suite of tapestry furniture covers depicting th
Armchair designed ca. 1786, woven 1790–91; chair frame second half 19th century Tapestry upholstery by Beauvais Tapestry-woven upholstery for two settees and twelve armchairs was commissioned at the same time as the wall hangings depicting the Four Continents (–.4).¹ The Four Continents was one of two suites・each including four wall tapestries and coordinating seating furniture・that were ordered from Beauvais in 1786; the subject of the other suite was to be a series illustrating the arts, sciences, agriculture, and commerce. An earlier suite of tapestry furniture covers depicting the continents was produced at the Royal Manufactory of Gobelins in 1748, and the arrangement of the motifs in Le Barbier’s covers is similar: personifications of the continents are set against a landscape on the seat backs, and native animals populate the seat covers.² This subject in tapestry aligns with the contemporary popularity of the Four Continents in eighteenth-century European art: everything from porcelain table decorations and tablewares to dinner napkins and ceiling frescoes incorporated personifications of the continents (see MMA , 1348). The settee showing America and Europe emphasizes the close relationship between France and the new United States, which France promoted so forcefully in the tapestry depicting America. The figure of France occupies the center of the sofa back, and America is seated off to the left. In this composition, France is ‘introducing the new nation to Europe across Neptune’s domain, the Atlantic; France’s discarded armor lies at her feet, as the war has been won, and Victory crowns her.’³ The armchairs repeat the female personifications of each continent, attended by male figures and some of the fauna typically associated with each. There are three variations on each of the four continents, and, although they are all slightly different, the iconographic program is consistent. It appears that this upholstery w
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