Interior At The Colin Maillard Tapestry, Oil On Canvas Circa 1910

Louis XVI-style living room interior featuring the tapestry “Le Jeu de Colin-Maillard”
Oil on canvas signed M. Paris, circa 1910–1920
Dimensions with frame: 53x44 cm

This charming oil on canvas depicts a Louis XVI-inspired living room interior arranged around neoclassical-style furniture. In the center stands a mahogany half-moon chest of drawers adorned with gilded bronze, topped by a lidded porcelain vase with a beautiful gilded bronze mount. Two chairs with lyre-backrests flank the chest.
The most striking element is the large tapestry that dominates the scene. It depicts “Blind Man’s Buff,” a famous 18th-century country pastime. This subject was among the most popular gallant themes of the era and was widely produced by the royal manufactories of Beauvais and Aubusson, notably based on cartoons by Jean-Baptiste Huet. The figures, dressed in 18th-century fashion, move through a wooded park where this lighthearted and elegant scene—characteristic of the Rococo style—unfolds.

The painter may have depicted a specific interior, such as a museum or a room in a private mansion, which has yet to be identified. This type of subject was highly popular among decorative painters in the first half of the 20th century, who were drawn to the elegance of the French decorative arts.