But, too, there is a most romantic as well as didactic side
to the subject matter of the Toiles de Jouy. "La Fete,"
shown here in an enchanting rosy hue, depicts a pastoral
celebration of country folk dancing before a rustic cottage,
a charming evocation of the picturesque.
The Toiles de Jouy thus set forth, in their pictorial narra-
tive, the whole, sometimes paradoxical tableau of values one
sees in 18th century France: exaltation of science, Reason
and progress, along with nostalgia for simpler pleasures,
epitomized in the writings of Rousseau, who yearned for
the elemental life of the Noble Savage, symbol of humanity's
essential goodness, as yet uncorrupted by the ways and
means of civilization. H
HYLAND
Toiles illustrated here are available via
Christopher Hyland Inc. +1 (212) 688-6121
