Artwork

Bandes d'amours et animaux, projets de broderies de gilet, XVIIIème siècle

Bandes d'amours et animaux, projets de broderies de gilet, XVIIIème siècle is a drawing by the Romanticist artist Anonyme. It dates from 1790 and is held in the collection of the Palais Galliera - Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris. The sheet presents a series of narrow vertical panels, each illustrating a distinct decorative motif intended for textile work.

About this work

Overview

The sheet presents a series of narrow vertical panels, each illustrating a distinct decorative motif intended for textile work.

The sheet presents a series of narrow vertical panels, each illustrating a distinct decorative motif intended for textile work. Rendered in monochrome, the designs alternate between simple coloured fields and more elaborate scenes featuring fauna such as goats and birds, as well as botanical elements like flowers and foliage. The composition suggests a reference guide for stitching patterns on a garment, likely a men’s vest.

Subject & Meaning

The panels combine naturalistic representations of animals and plants with stylised ornamental forms, reflecting eighteenth‑century tastes for pastoral and decorative themes in clothing. By juxtaposing lively creatures with floral motifs, the designs convey a harmonious balance between the wild and cultivated, a common aesthetic in fashionable attire of the period.

Technique & Style

Executed as a drawing rather than a finished textile, the work employs fine line work and shading to indicate embroidery stitches and texture. The clear, repeatable patterns and the use of vertical alignment correspond to the practical needs of garment construction, allowing each strip to be transferred onto fabric and stitched in sequence.

History & Provenance

Created around 1790 by an unidentified artist, the design sheet is part of a larger collection of decorative arts held by the Museum of Ethnography. Its anonymous origin is typical of utilitarian design documents of the era, which were often produced by workshops or pattern books rather than celebrated individual artists.