Patterned Textiles & Wallpaper Floral

The floral motif: an essential motif in the history of art and decorative arts

The floral motif is an essential element in the history of art and the decorative arts. In the Middle Ages, floral motifs were valued for their decorative qualities in illuminated manuscripts, but also for their symbolism.
Gradually, flowers came to be represented for their own sake until their painting became a style in its own right at the end of the 16th century, under the name of still life.
It was in the 17th century, during the reign of Louis XIV, that a census of the flower varieties present in the royal gardens was carried out, allowing the motifs listed to be adapted for the decorative arts. These drawings, initiated by Gaston d'Orléans and given to the Sun King, form what are known as "the king's vellum drawings."
Redouté, Pillement, among others, used this precise collection to enrich their formal and aesthetic vocabulary and allowed the 18th century to shine in the representation of flowers in painting and the decorative arts.
In our workshops, we also find an inexhaustible source of inspiration in the local pictorial tradition. The Lyon School of Flowers and its designs for silk manufacturers live on through our work.