From cartoon to tapestry, immortalising the royal hunts of Louis XV
Jean-Baptiste Oudry was a young artist trained in the studio of the famous painter Nicolas de Largillière, who became not only portraitist of the King’s dogs but also Louis XV’s true court and hunting painter, thanks to an order of nine cartoons illustrating the various episodes of the King’s hunts at Compiègne, Fontainebleau and Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Jean-Baptiste Oudry produced these monumental works between 1733 and 1746, the cartoons to serve as models for the tapestries of the Royal Hunts woven by the Gobelins manufactory.
A unique restoration campaign
Hunting, symbol of power, royal tradition and fundamental component of court society, is a heritage that has shaped the Château de Fontainebleau. The largest collection of works by Jean-Baptiste Oudry in France has been housed here since the reign of Louis-Philippe. In fact, of the nine preparatory cartoons for the Royal Hunts hanging, eight are now housed in the panelling of the appartement known as the Hunting Apartments, where they form the decor. Exceptionally, this apartement is open to the public as part of the exhibition.
With the help of the French Museums’ Centre for Research and Restoration (C2RMF), four cartoons by Jean-Baptiste Oudry have been the subject of a campaign of scientific analysis and a fundamental and ambitious restoration to ensure their preservation and rediscover Oudry’s palette and brushwork. After three years of restoration, the splendour of the paintings is now revealed.
This restoration campaign was made possible by the generous support of the Crédit Agricole Brie Picardie regional office, the Fonds Vénerie, the Fontainebleau Rotary Club, the François Sommer Foundation, the Friends of the Château de Fontainebleau and Mrs Valérie Renault-Cerbourg. A new fundraising campaign will launch the restoration of the other four cartoons of the same set.
The exhibition will also illustrate the artist’s taste for hunting scenes in painting and interior decoration, as well as the ‘Oudrymania’, i.e. the dissemination of the artist’s creations in various fields of the decorative arts, such as publishing, porcelain and goldsmiths‘ and silversmiths’ work. The exhibition invites you to (re)discover the favourite hunting residence of kings that the Château de Fontainebleau has been over the centuries.
The Château de Fontainebleau as favourite hunting spot of the Kings of France
Built in the heart of a forest full of game, and made unique by its history and architecture, the Château de Fontainebleau has been a favourite hunting spot for the kings of France since the 12th century. Ancient sources mention a pack of grey hounds brought back from Egypt by Saint Louis in 1260 and used to hunt in the forest of Fontainebleau. It was after a boar hunting accident in the forest of Bière that Philip the Fair, the Iron King, died in Fontainebleau in 1314. Under the reign of Francis I, nicknamed the ‘father of the hunters’, the Fontainebleau hunting inn was transformed into an exceptional Renaissance palace, completed with hunting-related architectural outbuildings such as the kennels and the small stables.
Even today, the tutelary presence of Diana, the goddess of hunting, in the Diana Garden and the trophies in the Stag Gallery bear witness to the importance of the château as a hunting estate in the hearts of the sovereigns.
In fact, autumn visits to Fontainebleau were introduced by the Valois, and the Bourbons remained faithful to this tradition. Louis XIV and Louis XV were assiduous hunters. The reign of the latter marked the apogee of the art of hunting; the king hunted three times a week, increased the number of crews and packs and had Oudry illustrated the history of his reign with cartoons of the Royal Hunts.
Curators
Oriane Beaufils, heritage curator, director of the collections of the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
Vincent Cochet, chief heritage curator at the Chateau de Fontainebleau
To accompany the exhibition
A booklet-game will be available so that children and adults can discover the exhibition at their own pace in a fun way.
The exhibition catalogue is published by the GrandPalaisRMN under the direction of Vincent Cochet and Oriane Beaufils.
229 pages, 190 illustrations. 49 euros.
A symposium on Jean-Baptiste Oudry and animal painting, co-organised with the François Sommer Foundation, will be held in Paris in mid-December.
Practical information
Prices
Exhibition in the Salle de la Belle Cheminée and the Hunting Appartment, is accessible with the château entrance ticket:
€14 | Free for under- 26-year-old EU residents
The château and exhibition are open every day except Tuesdays, from 9.30am to 5pm (last admission at 4.15pm). The courtyards and gardens are free and open every day from 9am to 7pm (last admission at 6pm). The park is open 24 hours a day.
How to get to the château
By road from Paris: Porte d’Orléans or Porte d’Italie, then A6 Fontainebleau exit.
SNCF: Gare de Lyon (main lines), station Fontainebleau/Avon then Bus 1, stop at ‘Chateau’.
The Pass Navigo allows holders to travel by train to Fontainebleau and take the bus there at no extra charge.
The exhibition was supported by the Fondation François Sommer and the Fonds Vénerie.
