Jean-Gabriel Charvet

Charvet's reputation rests on twenty-panels of scenic wallpaper titled Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique (The Savages of the South Pacific) which combine to form a neoclassical depiction of the explorations of Captain James Cook.

[7] The conservation department at the National Gallery of Australia reported that up to seven different shades were used to achieve naturalistic gradients in skin tone in order to imitate depth of form.

[10] Images produced by official voyage artists like John Webber were engraved and published, inspiring other exotic Pacific depictions like the Tableau des decouvertes du Capne.

[12] Primary sources, like the wallpaper's accompanying prospectus produced by Joseph Dufour in 1806, indicate that the subject of exploration and representations of the Pacific were very popular with a nineteenth century audience.

During the early nineteenth century there was a revival of the artistic style and ideals of the classical world, spurred by the excavation of sites like Pompeii in 1748 which uncovered stylised frescoes, mosaics and sculptures.

[18] Notably, the development of panoramic wallpaper was cheaper to produce and install than custom made tapestries or murals and thus was a more accessible form of wall decoration.

Despite pedagogical intentions, it is clear from the neoclassical costumes, generalised setting and homogenized racial cultures that this wallpaper was developed to “please the eye” more than to convey an accurate depiction of the Pacific.

American scholar, interior designer and dealer Nancy McClelland was instrumental in reviving an engagement with the history of panoramic wallpapers and wrote extensively on Les Sauvages in the 1920s.

[23] Commercial exhibitions of panoramic wallpapers by French dealer André Carlhian and books written by Henri Clouzot also enhanced critical engagement with Les Sauvages.

[25] A prominent exhibition was held at the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris from 1990 to 1991 which sparked further interest in scenic wallpapers as a “social mirror” reflecting the world of early nineteenth century France.

The emerging fascination of Les Sauvages in the Pacific can be easily traced by the acquisition of the work in state and national art museums in Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii from the 1980s onwards.