Mise-en-Carte (Point-Paper)
Nicholas Guerin et Cie
1760–1769
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor with traces of graphite over an etching in black ink on cream laid paper
- Dimensions
- Image/plate: 43.5 × 54.1 cm (17 3/16 × 21 5/16 in.); Sheet: 44.8 × 56.4 cm (17 11/16 × 22 1/4 in.)
- Genre
- design
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Styles
Tags
gridsgraphitedrawing (image-making)watercolor painting (technique)laid paperflowersetchinggarmentaccessory - paper designwatercolordesignfoliagepaper (fiber product)18th Century
About
Designs for silk weaving were drawn by professional artists who had often trained in flower painting, a skill that could be deployed for the decoration of objects besides textiles. The designs were painted on the point paper grid, which then served as a guide to the person mounting the threads on the loom. The artists’ names do not appear on these technical drawings; only the companies that commissioned the designs and wove the silk are identified.