Carle Van Loo (1705-1756) studied in Rome under Luti and Le Gros. In his youth he painted scenery for the opera with Boucher. In 1737 he was admitted to the Academy, and in 1762 made first painter to the king.
_Wool._ H. 13 _ft._ 3 _in._ W. 8 _ft._ 3 _in._ ]
[Sidenote: Another rendering in the Vienna Collection, No. 253; another in the Musée Impériale des Ecuries, Petrograd, No. 118.]
THE INDIAN HUNTER: _This tapestry is one of a set of eight illustrating the New India after designs by François Desportes. The set was first woven in 1687._ _This piece has the first type of border used with the series_, _bearing the arms of the king_, _which means that it was woven before_ 1768 _under either Cozette or Neilson_.[32]
The design is typical of the romantic primitivism that Rousseau formulated in his conception of the Noble Savage. The accuracy of detail in the Indian basket is interesting and rather unexpected.
François Desportes (1661-1743) studied under Bernaert, a pupil of Snyders. He entered the Academy in 1699 and was made painter to the king. He is famous for his paintings of animals and hunting scenes.
_Wool._ H. 11 _ft._ 1 _in._ W. 21 _ft._ 3 _in._ ]
THE THEFT OF THE TRUNK: _A group of gypsies surround a traveler's carriage, and while some tell the lady's fortune and receive alms others attempt to steal a trunk from the baggage-rack behind._
[Sidenote: Formerly in Collection of Count Polovzoff, Petrograd. Another example in the Swedish Royal Collection. Illustrated: _Böttiger, Svenska Statins Samling_, vol. 3, pl. LXVI.]
The tapestry is one of the series _Les Bohémiens_ by François Casanova, and was woven in Beauvais when the factory was under the direction of André Charlemagne Charron, whose initials it bears in signature. According to the inventories, the series has been woven only twice--once in 1777 for the king, and again in 1799.[33]
The vividness of the minor episodes and the vivacity of characterization of even the lesser actors make this a most interesting tapestry. The weaving is done with exquisite skill and the color is unusually fresh and charming.
[Sidenote: Lent by _Jacques Seligmann & Company_.]
François Casanova (1730-1805) went to Italy in 1727 where he studied under Guardi and Francesco Simonini. He returned to France and later studied under Parocel. In 1763 he was received into the Academy and exhibited in the salons until 1783.