Sunday, April 29, 2012

toile, exploring a traditional design pattern - April 29th 2012

Toile de Jouy, sometimes abbreviated to simply "toile", is a type of decorating pattern consisting of a usually white or off-white background on which a repeated pattern depicting a fairly complex scene, generally of a pastoral theme such as a couple having a picnic by a lake or an arrangement of flowers.

Toiles were originally produced in Ireland in the mid-18th Century and quickly became popular in Britain and France. The term, Toile de Jouy, orginated in France in the late 18th century. In the French language, the phrase literally means "cloth from Jouy-en-Josas", a town of north-central France.

An old fashioned pattern, often used in wall paper, drawer lining paper and cosmetic bags. There are some fun versions of the pattern, surreal, erotic, silly, fun, twisted, artistic. A selection of them all below. Even though I feel ambivalent about the design, I can't help feeling that some are beautiful.

Beth Katleman's Folly. Three Dimensional Ceramic Toile Wallpaper Installations.

hunting toile

Vigilante Floral toile by Dan Funderburgh

Posada toile by Dan Funderburgh

Chinatown toile by Dan Funderburgh

Bad Habits by Dan Funderburgh

Double Dutch toile

Marvelous toiles at Timorous Beasties. My favorite below.

From the blog, True Up, a post called

Happy Birthday Toile!

Toile was born in 1760 in Jouy-en-Josas, France. Traditionally, a toile (or “Toile de Jouy“) features pastoral scenes, people at leisure, and mythological figures, drawn in dark blue, red, or black on a white background. They were originally printed with etched copper plates, later to be replaced by copper rollers. Today, toile is associated with elegance and class. It’s a style that begs to adapted as a tribute to a place or person, as Wren has done, or in parody. Take a look …