The Bird Catcher, from The Noble Pastoral 1778 - 1780

Editor: This is “The Bird Catcher, from The Noble Pastoral,” a tapestry made between 1778 and 1780 by François Boucher. The figures are arranged beautifully, almost like a painting. What symbols or recurring images stand out to you in this piece? Curator: The most obvious symbol is, of course, the birdcage itself. In Boucher's time, and continuing even now, birds in cages represented a controlled nature, and were often associated with capturing affections or, perhaps more pointedly, virginity. The exchange of birds—giving, receiving, and containing—carries all this symbolic weight. Notice how several figures interact with cages, focusing their attention on controlling and exchanging small birds. Editor: I didn’t immediately pick up on the capturing of affections! How do the other elements in the image—like the classical architecture in the background—relate to that theme? Curator: The architecture serves as a backdrop of established society, a cultured veneer for the underlying, perhaps more primal, human desires. The figures are in a "pastoral" setting, suggesting an idealized, almost theatrical, nature, where human dramas of love and social status unfold against a carefully arranged scene. It creates a dialogue between nature and culture, desire and constraint. Editor: That makes perfect sense! The whole tapestry feels so artificial but still pretty. Curator: Exactly. The appeal resides in that Rococo tension – celebrating pleasure and artifice, while subtly acknowledging the complexities of desire and societal expectation. I would propose the true genius of this work resides in Boucher´s clever balancing of surface beauty and complex subtext, demanding the viewer to reflect upon human relationships. Editor: So much to consider. Now I’m looking at it in a completely different light, realizing that beauty does have so much psychological symbolism intertwined with it.