Woman with a Mirror

Imperial Russian Tapestry Manufactory, Saint Petersburg|Nicolas Lancret

late 18th century · Wool, metal thread (20-25 warps per inch, 8-10 per cm.) · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Cyrillic script on a fictive plaque adorning a trompe l’oeil frame identifies “N. Lancret”, probably the artist of the painting this tapestry imitates. Large-scale figurative tapestries like this one had been woven in Saint Petersburg since at least 1716 when Peter the Great founded a tapestry weaving workshop under royal protection; by 1756, its weavers were directed by Jean Baptiste Rondet, who had worked at the great Manufacture Royale des Gobelins in Paris. This tapestry, woven during the reign of Empress Catherine II of Russia, was probably entirely the work of Russian weavers. It is part of a large group of technically proficient tapestries modelled after great paintings in the Russian royal collection, although in this instance no such painting attributed to Nicolas Lancret or his circle is known, and no comparable painting of a woman with a mirror is recorded in the Russian royal or state collections.

Artist

Imperial Russian Tapestry Manufactory, Saint Petersburg|Nicolas Lancret

Date

late 18th century

Medium

Wool, metal thread (20-25 warps per inch, 8-10 per cm.)

Culture

Russian, St. Petersburg

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Julia A. Berwind, 1953