Joseph Dufour et Cie, founded in 1797 by Joseph and Pierre Dufour, was a French painted

wallpaper Wallpaper is a material used in interior decoration to decorate the interior walls of domestic and public buildings. It is usually sold in rolls and is applied onto a wall using wallpaper paste. Wallpapers can come plain as "lining paper" (so t ...

and fabrics manufacturer () located in

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the prefecture of the department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home to near 34,000 residents, who are referred to in French as M� ...

, France.

General

In 1806, in collaboration with the artist

Jean-Gabriel Charvet Jean-Gabriel Charvet (1750–1829), also known as Jean Gabriel Charvet, was a French painter, designer and draftsman who was born in Serrières, Ardèche, France. He studied at the École de Dessin in Lyon under the French artist Donat Nonnotte ...

, Dufour et Cie produced a twenty-panel set of scenic wallpaper entitled (), which became the biggest success of the company. It was the largest panoramic wallpaper of its time, and marked the burgeoning of a French industry in panoramic wallpapers. Dufour realized almost immediate success from the sale of these papers and enjoyed a lively trade with America. Like most of eighteenth century wallpapers, the panorama was designed to be hung above a dado.

History

For many years it was believed that Joseph Dufour was born in 1752. An error in his place of birth was the source of the mistake. Indeed, another Joseph Dufour was born in

, in 1752, whilst the founder of the manufacture was born in

Tramayes Tramayes () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. See also *Communes of the Saône-et-Loire department The following is a list of the 565 communes of the Saône-et-Loire ...

in 1757 as the second child of Claude Dufour and Francoise Braillon. Joseph Dufour trained in the wallpaper industry and worked in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, which was a center for both the textile and wallpaper industries. In 1797, Joseph Dufour started the company together with his brother Pierre in Macon, Rue de la Paroisse. The designer Jean-Gabriel Charvet, renowned in Lyon, worked for them. Their first few years were not very successful; in 1800 they went into liquidation and Pierre left the company. By 1801, the business was operating under the name ''Joseph Dufour et Cie''. Then the company picked up rapidly, and in 1805 the company employed more than 90 workers. Following the success of at the Fourth Exhibition of Products of the French Industry in 1806, Joseph Dufour moved to Paris in the

Faubourg Saint Antoine The Faubourg Saint-Antoine was one of the traditional suburbs of Paris, France. It grew up to the east of the Bastille around the abbey of Saint-Antoine-des-Champs, and ran along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine. Location The Faubourg Saint-Ant ...

. His company rapidly became famous in Europe and America not only for its panoramics but also for its repeating wallpaper. The company employed the talent of famous designers such as Xavier Mader and Evarist Fragonard. Joseph Dufour died in Paris 1827. His son-in-law took on the business but sold it a few years later. The wood-blocks were scattered.

''Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique''

Captain Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

first sailed from England to the South Seas in 1769. He made three expeditions before his death in 1779, and his adventures captured the imaginations of many Europeans at a time when there was considerable interest in the "primitive" and "exotic". His discoveries lent support to the prevailing notion of the inherent moral superiority of "the noble savage", an idea expressed in the writings of

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

(1712–1778). In 1784, accounts of Cook's voyages were set forth in an official three-volume publication. Accompanying this was a separate folio atlas containing 61 engravings of landscapes, portraits, and indigenous artifacts. In 1806 Joseph Dufour et Cie, in collaboration with the designer

, produced a twenty-panel set of scenic wallpaper entitled ' (), depicting Cook's travels. The wallpaper was printed in color from multiple woodblocks. Machine-made continuous paper, just invented, was not yet commercially available when Dufour undertook his project. Instead, small rectangular handmade sheets were joined at the edges to form long rolls, which were later cut to the desired length (approximately 24 by 98 inches or 61 × 249 cm). A toned, water-based ground layer was then applied by brush to the entire panel to act as an undercoat for subsequent printing. This light blue layer also served as the sky tone in unprinted areas. Designs for each color were carved on separate blocks, and as many as sixty were required to print a single panel. The design was then enhanced with

stencil Stencilling produces an image or pattern on a surface, by applying pigment to a surface through an intermediate object, with designed holes in the intermediate object, to create a pattern or image on a surface, by allowing the pigment to reach ...

ed hand-painted

gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouache h ...

. The panels show many historical events loosely based on the reports of James Cook and La Pérouse and drawings made by members of their crews. Some of the figures of Pacific Islanders were based upon

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es from ancient

Pompei Pompei (; nap, Pumpeje, ) or Pompeii (, as in the name of the ancient city) is a city and commune in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy, home of the ancient Roman ruins of Pompeii that are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. History ...

, which had been rediscovered in 1748, and others upon well-known

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Roman sculpture The study of Roman sculpture is complicated by its relation to Greek sculpture. Many examples of even the most famous Greek sculptures, such as the Apollo Belvedere and Barberini Faun, are known only from Roman Imperial or Hellenistic "copies". At ...

Panel descriptions

A description of the individual panels follows: * Panel 1: Inhabitants of

Nootka Island Nootka Island (french: île Nootka) is an island adjacent to Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is in area. It is separated from Vancouver Island by Nootka Sound and its side-inlets, and is located within Electoral Area A of the ...

in Canada, which was visited by

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

in March 1778. * Panel 2: Inhabitants of

Raiatea Raiatea or Ra'iatea ( Tahitian: ''Ra‘iātea'') is the second largest of the Society Islands, after Tahiti, in French Polynesia. The island is widely regarded as the "centre" of the eastern islands in ancient Polynesia and it is likely that the ...

, the second largest of the

Society Islands The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

, Chief Oreo met Captain Cook in 1777. * Panel 3: Inhabitants of Ha'apai in

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

. A man, a woman and a girl behind plum trees taking part in feast of the Arroey (seen in panel-2). * Panels 4 to 6: Inhabitants of

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

, the largest island in

. O-too, King of Tahiti, in panel 6, on a throne beneath a banana tree between two coconut trees, with his daughter and sister in 1773. The scene is a kind of dramatic dance accompanied by flutes, drums and a chorus of singing and clapping girls. * Panel 7: Inhabitants of Tanna (

New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

) visited by Cook in July 1774. There are three islanders in the foreground. The double war canoe in the background was launched during Cook's stay in Pare,

. * Panels 8 and 9: Inhabitants of the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) visited by Cook for the third time in January 1779. Chief Kaneena is in the foreground of panel 9 and behind him, another chief watch Cook's death. Cook's two ships, HMS ''Resolution'' and the smaller HMS ''Discovery'', are anchored off shore. The volcano in the background resembles

Mount Yasur Mount Yasur is a volcano on Tanna Island, Vanuatu, high above sea level, on the coast near Sulphur Bay, northeast of the taller Mount Tukosmera, which was active in the Pleistocene. It has a largely unvegetated pyroclastic cone with a nearly ...

on the island of Tanna in New Hebrides, and is unlike any in Hawaii. * Panels 10 and 11: Inhabitants of New Zealand, discovered by

Abel Tasman Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first known European explorer to reach New Z ...

. In panel 10 Chief Kaoora, who killed a detachment of Captain Furneaux's crew, sits on a rock under two gris-gris trees. In panel 11 a New Zealand woman and child with warriors on a trail to the rear. * Panel 12: Inhabitants of the Straits of Prince William, 1778 (Sandwich Sound, Alaska). They resemble their neighbors, the natives of Nootka Island. * Panel 13: Inhabitants of

Nomuka Nomuka is a small island in the southern part of the Haapai group of islands in Tonga. It is part of the Nomuka Group of islands, also called the Otu Muomua. Nomuka is 7 square kilometres in area. It has a large brackish lake (Ano Lahi) in the ...

with Abel Tasman on Rotterdam Island (now called Anamocka) in 1643. A vessel is filled with island natives during Cook's visit in 1777. * Panel 14: Inhabitants of

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

, visited by Cook in 1773. Natives picking bananas resemble natives of Tanna, their nearest neighbor. * Panels 15 and 16: Inhabitants of

Tongatapu Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% of the nation ...

, the main island of

and the most important of the

. Cook anchored in June 1777 accompanied by

Omai Mai (c.1751-late 1779), known as Omai in Britain, was a young Ra'iatean man who became the second Pacific Islander to visit Europe, after Ahu-toru who was brought to Paris by Bougainville in 1768. Life Ma'i, born c.1751, described himself ...

and Chief Finau 'Ulukalala and was received by King Fatafehi Paulaho at a great feast. The King stands beneath the banana tree with his favorite wife. In the background of panel 16 are Finau and

standing under tamarind trees watching wrestlers. * Panel 17: Inhabitants of Santa Christina in the

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in th ...

. King Honoo of Santa Christina and his Queen watch the Tongatabo fête with other inhabitants in the background under the tamarind trees. * Panel 18: Inhabitants of

, discovered by Álvaro de Mendaña in 1595 and visited by Cook in 1773. A man and two women are seated beneath a palm tree. People in middle distance of panels 18-19 are of

Cape Maria van Diemen Cape Maria van Diemen is the westernmost point of the North Island of New Zealand. A tombolo, it was originally an island composed mainly of basaltic-andesitic lava flows and dykes. Drifting sands joined it to the rest of the North Island during ...

New Holland (Australia) ''New Holland'' ( nl, Nieuw-Holland) is a historical European name for mainland Australia. The name was first applied to Australia in 1644 by the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman. The name came for a time to be applied in most European maps to the ...

and

Admiralty Islands The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 18 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-co ...

. Jacques Julien Houton de la Billardière visited the later in 1791–94 while searching for Marquis de La Pérouse. * Panel 19: Inhabitants of

Easter Island Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...

, which was allegedly discovered by the English buccaneer Captain John Davis in 1686 and visited by Cook in 1773. Two people in foreground are of

. * Panel 20: Inhabitants of

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...

, where English sea captain

Henry Wilson Henry Wilson (born Jeremiah Jones Colbath; February 16, 1812 – November 22, 1875) was an American politician who was the 18th vice president of the United States from 1873 until his death in 1875 and a senator from Massachusetts from 1855 to ...

sailing on the Antelope was shipwrecked in August 1783. In foreground are King Aba-Thule and his wife Ludee, who returned to Europe with Wilson on a boat built in Palau. The

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...

(Australia),

Historic Deerfield Historic Deerfield is a museum dedicated to the heritage and preservation of Deerfield, Massachusetts, and history of the Connecticut River Valley. Its historic houses, museums, and programs provide visitors with an understanding of New Engla ...

(Deerfield, Massachusetts), the

Honolulu Museum of Art The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. The museum has one of the largest single col ...

and the

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF), comprising the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, is the largest public arts institution in the city of San Francisco. The permanent collection of the ...

usually have Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique on display.

References

* Collingridge, Vanessa, ''Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique, les: manufactured by Joseph Dufour et Cie 1804–05, after a design by Jean-Gabriel Charvet'', Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2000. * Crick, Clare, ''Two Wallpapers by Dufour et Compagnie'', Pharos '78, June 1978, Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg. * Honolulu Academy of Arts, ''Honolulu Academy of Arts, Selected Works'', Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1990, 180. * Lee, Mary Wood, Konstanze Bachman and Shelley Fletcher, ''Sauvages de la Mer du Pacifique: Treatment of an early 19th century wallpaper depicting the voyages and death of Captain Cook'', AIC preprints, Boston, Mass., pp. 92–103 (May 30–June 2, 1977). * McClell, Nancy, ''Historic Wall-papers: From Their Inception to the Introduction of Machinery'', Lippincott, 1924. * Webb, Vivienne, "Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique" in Lisa Reihana, ''Lisa Reihana: Emissaries'', Auckland Art Gallery, 2017, , pp. 116–123

External links

National Gallery of Australia
* https://web.archive.org/web/20090419170155/http://www.dufour.ot-tramayes.com/en/texte%20complementaire/biographie.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Dufour Et Cie, Joseph French printers Wallpaper manufacturers