Description

France developed a thriving silk industry in Lyon with the goal of becoming the fashion center of Europe. Employment soared to some 20,000 workers by the time of the French Revolution in 1789. Designs changed annually, colors established new fashions, and spectacular silks were produced during the late 1700s. Philippe de Lasalle, trained as a painter by François Boucher, became the celebrated chief textile designer for Camille Pernon & Cie, purveyors to King Louis XVI (reigned 1785-90). Lasalle’s floral style with large and balanced designs, enhanced here with a fashionable classical figure, displays his preference for lighter forms without the opulent gold thread of earlier brocaded silks.