National Gobelins Manufactory (Manufacture nationale des Gobelins)
The Gobelins Manufactory is an outstanding monument of French industrial culture. It is located on the same-named avenue in the Gobelins Quarter (Le Quartier des Gobelins).
This world’s famous factory appeared on the bank of the River Bièvre in the Faubourg Saint Marcel in the outskirts of Paris around 1440. It was first established by Jean Gobelin as a small fabric dyeing workshop. In 1601, Henry IV invited two weavers from Brussels to manufacture carpets here. But it was only under Louis XIV that the production of carpets at the “Royal Factory of Carpets for the Crown” reached a large scale. Thanks to the efforts of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, all the craftsmen producing tapestries were concentrated at the factory in the year 1662. The factory also had workshops producing furniture, bronze cast products, stone items (Florentine mosaic), and varnishes. The Manufactory supplied furniture and luxury items to the Versailles and other royal residences. Designs for carpets were created by Charles Le Brun and many famous artists. The Manufactory comprised several buildings housing different workshops.
Peter I visited the Gobelins Manufactory twice, on May 1/12 and June 4/15, 1717. Those visits were mentioned by many of his contemporaries, but the most detailed and, perhaps, the most accurate description was given by Louis Franc̜ois Dubois de Saint-Gelais in his Histoire journalière de Paris (Daily History of Paris). The Tsar arrived at the Manufactory at half past seven on May 12. He was accompanied by the Duke d’Antin who had ordered to make all necessary preparations for the Tsar’s visit overnight. Peter was received by Director of the Royal Factory Jules-Robert de Cotte. At first, the honored guest was shown some finished carpets that replicated the most famous works by local craftsmen. Then, he was shown an atelier that manufactured tapestries using the high-warp and low-warp techniques. The Tsar engaged in long conversations with the artisans and watched them working. Some of the workers were children, with some being as young as seven years of age. The Tsar was so moved that he kissed one of the little workers. Then he acquainted himself with the wool dyeing technique. Peter was also interested in seeing the varnish production facility set up at the Manufactory not long before his visit. It was only at noon that the Tsar left the artistic factory which had attracted so much of his interest.
On June 15, the Tsar revisited the place to view all of the production facilities again. The interest of the Tsar did not go unnoticed by the hosts who prepared presents for him. Peter was given two series of low-warp tapestries. One of the series was comprised of four tapestries created by Lefèvre based on Jouvenet’s cartoons with scenes from the New Testament (the Meal at Simon the Pharisee, the Miraculous Draught of Fish, the Driving of the Merchants from the Temple, and the Raising of Lazarus). Eight still life tapestries produced by tapestry maker Jean after Deporte’s cartoon were part of the so-called “Indian series”. In addition, the Tsar was given two high-warp tapestry portraits that he particularly liked. One of them was made by tapestry maker Suet and had the image of Jesus Christ after a painting by Le Brun and the other was made by Jean junior and featured the portrait of a Spanish woman after Santerre’s painting. Other sources say that the Tsar was presented a tapestry from the History of Don Quixote series after Coypel junior’s drawings.
Peter I planned to set up his own tapestry manufactory in St. Petersburg. To this end, in 1716-1717, he invited high-warp and low-warp tapestry makers from France. The last two groups of French professionals came to Russia’s capital in June 1717 to become a core working team at the St. Petersburg Tapestry Manufactory which was established the same year. The Tsar mentioned the need to quickly set up this kind of manufacturing facility when he wrote to Menschikov from Paris.
The operations of the Gobelins Manufactory in Paris were suspended during the French Revolution only. It is still producing tapestries using the 17th century technology. In 1912, architect Jean-Camille Formigé built a building facing the Avenue des Gobelins which houses the manufactory museum. Today, the National Gobelins Manufactory is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture of France and is open to tourists.
