Europe meets Asia

La Foire Chinois (The Chinese Fair) and Le Jardin Chinois (The Chinese Garden) by Francois Boucher (1703-1770) belong to a series of 10 preliminary sketches made for a set known as the Nouvelle Tenture Chinois (the New Chinese Tapestry Series). The works display an exotic fantasy incorporating European and Asian elements. Boucher, who was an ardent admirer of Chinese art, gave his subject a breadth of chinoiserie, with La Foire Chinois mirroring the prominent market in France for Chinese porcelain.