Sur les traces d’un décor: de l’hôtel parisien aux objets d’art. Échanges entre ateliers européens au XVIIe siècle.
Résumé
In the 17th century, French art lives a deep campaign of renewal and emancipation from the
Italian artistic model. Artists of this era, mainly engaged in the construction site of Versailles,
struggle for the dissemination of new models, already tested in the preparation of aristocratic
residences. These new decorative models developed in the ateliers of the French capital also
affect the development of the decorative arts, even beyond French borders.
The Suite de pièces ornementales, set of 12 engraved plates, signed by François Bignon
(1620ca. post-1668) and Zacharie Heince (1611-1669), seems to be inspired by the decorations
made in the middle of 17th century in the Parisian hotel of the chancellor Pierre Seguier (1588-
1672) and today disappeared. In the following years, these patterns have been translated by
craftsmen of the two most important European centres of pottery production in the 17th and
18th centuries: Nevers and Castelli.
The city of Nevers, in the south of France, benefits from a strategic location close to trade
routes, halfway between Paris and Lyon. Moreover, recent research proves that the artisans of
Nevers were active participants in the construction site of Versailles. At the same time, the
Italian potters working in Castelli introduce subjects from the Suite de pièces ornementales.
This is the track of contacts and active communication between the two ateliers, confirmed by
their sharing of other unexpected iconographic sources.