Guy-Louis Vernansal: The Emperor Sailing (1716-22)

(Art Institute Chicago, Chicago, USA)

A tapestry made by French weavers, after a design by the French artist Guy-Louis Vernansal (1648–1729). This tapestry (a Chinoiserie, or an European interpretation of Asian art) is part of a set that shows scenes from the lives of the Chinese emperor Shunzhi (r. 1644–61) and his son, the emperor Kangxi (r. 1661–1722) called 'The Story of the Emperor of China'. The set was commissioned by Philippe Behagle, the director of the Beauvais tapestry workshop, to cater to the French court’s increasing fascinating with China. This tapestry shows the emperor seated in a ceremonial dragon boat as it pulls away from a quay. Members of the imperial family and their attendants watch the launch from underneath an arcade, in close proximity to a crane and a tortoise that together symbolize their well-wishes for the monarch. Tapestry from 1716-1722.