Mise-en-carte (Point-paper) 1760 - 1790

This "Mise-en-carte," or "Point-paper," is a design created by Germain Frères. It uses gouache and graphite to create a blueprint for textile production. The design is structured by a fine grid, a framework that imposes order on the floral and ribbon motifs. Note how the grid's regularity contrasts with the organic forms, highlighting the intersection of nature and industrial design. The color palette, with its muted blues, pinks, and yellows, adds a layer of complexity, softening the grid's rigidity. The composition is a careful arrangement of visual signs, each carrying coded information about color, texture, and pattern repeats. The "point paper" system itself serves as a form of visual language, translating aesthetic ideas into technical specifications. This artwork’s formal qualities suggest the tensions between artistic expression and industrial control, where creativity becomes a set of instructions. The grid’s presence emphasizes that even the most decorative elements are subject to structural constraints.