Dufour created La Galerie Mythologique in 1814. Designed by Jacques-Christopher Xavier Mader, the original set included six non-continuous scenes: Vengeance of Ceres, The Muses, The Judgement of Paris, Time and the Seasons, and the two scenes that Scenic Wallpaper has restored - Diane et Vénus and Apollon et Phaéton. In case the viewer was unfamiliar with the scene, each section also had a block printed title.

Meant to be installed in sections, Dufour also produced architectural elements, vases and trophies that would separate each of the mythological scenes.  This ingenious method allowed the scenes to be used in any room despite the architecture.

La Galerie Mythologique prepares for the upcoming release of Dufour’s monumental scenic paper, Psyche and Cupid, illustrating Dufour’s interest and love for Greco-Roman culture and myth.

These panels are incredibly rare, c. 1814, and there are only three other examples - at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Valenciennes, and the Frizzoni Palace in Bergamo, Italy.

The panels were removed improperly from their original location and required extensive restoration. After removing the panels from their frames and carefully removing the old backing materials from the delicate papers, our team installed the panels onto prepared boards. Each panel was lined with archival materials and then the Dufour paper was applied.

Our artists then completed the extensive process of cleaning and in-painting to restore the panels. Much of the lost detail appeared during the restoration, as some of the color had flaked off completely.

Diane et Vénus

Bringing these two goddesses together illustrates their contrast. Diana, virgin goddess of the hunt, is in motion, her veil blowing in the wind. She has her two dogs on a leash, ready to hunt. Venus, goddess of love and passion, sits and squeezes her children against her knee, with Cupid hiding an arrow beside his mother’s dress.

Apollon et Phaéton

Phaeton’s mother was mortal, and he had grown up being told that his father was a god. He went to meet the sun god Apollo to prove himself to his father. Apollo welcomed him, promising to grant him any wish. To Apollo’s dismay, Phaeton wished to drive his father’s golden chariot through the sky. Apollo reluctantly agreed, anointing Phaeton’s head with magic oil and a crown of rays. Phaethon was unable to control the horses, and with the threat of the Earth being burnt to dust, Zeus was forced to kill Phaethon with a thunderbolt.

See more of our Antique Wallpaper restorations here.