Archery from Amusements Champêtres (Country Sports) 1770 - 1790

Editor: Right now, we’re looking at *Archery from Amusements Champêtres (Country Sports)* made sometime between 1770 and 1790. It's a woven wool tapestry by Manufacture Royale d’Aubusson. It's so charming! It reminds me of a scene from a pastoral play, or something you'd find illustrating a fairytale book. All that hazy sunlight... What draws your eye when you look at it? Curator: Oh, the immediate sensation is one of gentle pleasure, isn't it? Like stumbling upon a secret garden. And look at how skillfully they’ve used those earthy colours to create depth. It's as though you could just wander into that landscape. Notice how the figures are positioned, almost playfully, in this idealized setting... they evoke this light-hearted and joyful spirit through archery. Are we meant to believe these people are aiming? It feels more performative than practical! What do you make of that, given the time it was produced? Editor: Well, if it’s more performative, does that say something about the aristocracy playing at peasant life, almost? Curator: Precisely! The Rococo period revelled in that sort of fantasy. And that floral border around the edge? A frame *within* a frame, highlighting this carefully constructed idyll. Think of it as a stage set, complete with players and props. Tapestries like these weren’t just decorative, they were making statements about leisure and status, veiled in an aura of… well, playful unreality. I love how subversive that is! Editor: That's such a useful way to frame this tapestry; it completely changes how I see it! The ‘stage set’ really resonates! I initially just thought, oh, pretty landscape! Thank you! Curator: And thank *you* for asking all the right questions! Art's not about what you *see*, but about how you *see* it. It is about questioning what assumptions we have, is it not? Now, tell me... where *would* you hang it?