Manufacture des Gobelins
A few blocks from the Les Gobelins métro, a set of irregular stone buildings rise beside a buried river. These are the Manufacture des Gobelins, a tapestry factory that has worked for the French crown since the 17th century.
The story begins with the Gobelin family, dyers who settled here on the Bièvre in the mid-1400s. In 1602, Henry IV brought Flemish weavers to the site. But the real transformation came in 1662, when Colbert bought the works for Louis XIV and placed Charles Le Brun at the helm. Le Brun designed tapestries that furnished the court at Versailles and turned the manufactory into a centre of royal art.
Financial troubles forced a closure in 1694, but the looms restarted three years later. The factory survived the Revolution, the Bourbon Restoration, and a partial burn during the 1871 Commune. Today it is run by the French Ministry of Culture and still produces tapestries for government buildings. You can visit the Galerie des Gobelins—a 1937 building by Auguste Perret—for temporary exhibitions, or book a guided tour to see the working looms.
These are not museum pieces in the usual sense. The weavers still use 17th-century techniques, and the air smells of wool and dye. A single tapestry can take years. You leave with a new understanding of what 'handmade' truly means.
A few blocks from the Les Gobelins métro, a set of irregular stone buildings rise beside a buried river. These are the Manufacture des Gobelins, a tapestry factory that has worked for the French crown since the 17th century.
The story begins with the Gobelin family, dyers who settled here on the Bièvre in the mid-1400s. They gave the site its name. In 1602, Henry IV rented space from the Gobelins for Flemish weavers Marc de Comans and François de la Planche. Their sons took over, and by 1633 the manufactory was under Charles de Comans alone. The partnership ended around 1650, and tapestries from this Flemish period are sometimes called pre-gobelins.
The real transformation came in 1662. Jean-Baptiste Colbert purchased the works on behalf of Louis XIV. He made it a general upholstery factory, and put the court painter Charles Le Brun in charge. Le Brun served as director and chief designer from 1663 to 1690. His workshop also served as foundries for most of the bronze statues in the park of Versailles. The tapestries produced here were among the finest in Europe, rivalling those from Beauvais.
Financial troubles forced a closure in 1694, but the looms restarted three years later. The factory continued through the 18th century, then the French Revolution halted work. It was revived under the Bourbon Restoration, and in 1826 carpet-making was added. During the Paris Commune in 1871, the building was partly burned down. Architect Jean-Camille Formigé rebuilt the frontage on avenue des Gobelins in 1912.
Today the manufactory is state-run under the Ministry of Culture. It consists of four irregular 17th-century buildings plus Formigé's 1912 structure. These contain Le Brun's residence and the looms where weavers still work using 17th-century techniques. The factory produces a limited number of tapestries, often with contemporary subjects, for French government institutions.
The Galerie des Gobelins, built in 1937 by Auguste Perret in the gardens, hosts temporary exhibitions of tapestries and furniture from the Mobilier National. It reopened to the public on May 12, 2007. Important exhibitions are organized regularly.
A curious footnote: a branch of the manufactory was established in London, probably in the early 18th century, in what is now Fulham High Street. Around 1753 it was taken over by a priest and adventurer named Pierre Parisot, but closed only a few years later.
Guided tours are offered several afternoons per week by appointment. Casual visits are possible every day except Mondays and some holidays. The quiet courtyards and the smell of dye make this one of Paris's least showy and most rewarding historical sites.
