In this week’s blog post, Costume Society News Editor Dr Babette Radclyffe-Thomas, reviews the Toile de Jouy museum, France.
The Toile de Jouy museum in Jouy-en-Josas, was established to celebrate the work of textile entrepreneur Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf (1738 – 1815) and the world famous Toile de Jouy fabric. Housed in a château just outside Paris, the collections include nearly 10,000 pieces from the 18th century to today, comprising garments, toiles, drawings and more.
As visitors enter the museum, they encounter a recreated 18th century apartment evoking the life of the Oberkampf family, entirely decorated in Toile de Jouy fabric. Upstairs, over 150 items are on show from the permanent collections, and this space was completely reimagined in 2020 to explore the history of the factory and this fabric. Taking a chronological approach, visitors gain insights into printed cotton’s origins in India and the development of ‘mordant’, the rise of the East India Company and artistic influences from trade, the calico wars, the development from workshop to factory, the rise and fall of the factory and finally the lasting legacy of the signature patterns.
Oberkampf was a calico printer from a Protestant family from Wurternberg, Germany. A descendant of a long line of Germanic dyers, he learned his trade in the best Swiss workshops. He first arrived in Paris in 1758 after being recruited by the atelier Cottin in the Arsenal where he trained as a colourist and an engraver. He soon became independent, establishing his own textile printing workshop in 1760 in Jouy-en-Josas, a small village outside of Paris. When searching for the ideal location for his workshop, Oberkampf followed the tributary of the Bièvre from the Arsenal in search of the purest water. Jouy-en-Josas, a small village, offered this ideal location due to the purity of its water, the availability of housing and the proximity to Versailles and the Royal Court.
Despite the ban and threats of fines during the period of the ‘calico wars’, imprisonments and even public seizures, a fashion for brightly coloured cottons among aristocracy and middle class persisted, as they decorated their interiors and adorned themselves in these intricate chintzes. So, when Oberkampf opened his factory, the timing was perfect. The French prohibition banning the manufacture and consumption of printed cottons had just ended. Oberkampf’s expert chemistry knowledge led him to develop ‘colour-fast’ cottons with vibrant colours in his own range of patterns. Although little is known in the archive about the early productions, they do know that he began by producing toiles with figurative motifs, often Chinese inspired, and floral motifs. As well as engaging in Chinoiseries, Mughal art was also used as inspiration, even leading to a melange of the styles where Chinese motifs are depicted in Indo-Persian scenery.
Oberkampf’s economic strategy, artistic eye and knowledge of the industry led the factory to become in 1803 the third largest company in France in terms of capital and workforce. The factory produced over 30,000 designs in a wide range of styles, for furnishings as well as clothing. His printed calicos led to Toile de Jouy becoming a globally recognized fabric, and the factory was renowned for sophisticated prints incorporating more than five colours. Oberkampf became one of the pioneers of the Industrial Revolution, even Napolean I came to visit his factory and in 1806 was awarded the Legion of Honour by Napolean I.
Toiles known as ‘meubles à personnages’ depicting narrative scenes became most commonly associated with Jouy, however when the factory was sold in 1821, these toiles represented just over one hundred designs of the entire production. Despite the closure of the factory in 1843, Toile de Jouy fabric continued to inspire designers and couturiers globally during the following century, such as Dior, Chloé, Vivienne Westwood and Christian Lacroix. Some of which are represented in the museum displays as garments and photographs.
On the ground floor, temporary exhibitions explore the facets of this fabric, such as ‘Le Crin dans tous ses éclats’, that explored the use of horsehair across various industries. Opened in time for the Paris 2024 Olympics and inspired by the equestrian events happening in nearby Versailles, the exhibition displayed pieces such as horsehair bustles and a horsehair Hermès Kelly bag.
“Toile de Jouy patterns are an inexhaustible source of inspiration for designers the world over. With each exhibition, we travel around the world and into the world of great artists,” Charlotte du Vivier Lebrun, Director, Musée de la Toile de Jouy said. The current temporary exhibition is ‘Portals. Portraits: an invitation to the universe of Tim Hailand’ and runs until 23 March 2025.
For more insights into ongoing exhibitions in and around Paris, revisit Costume Society trustee Judith Hepner's review of 'Paris, Capitale de la Perle' on our blog.
