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National Manufactories' Secrets and Studios Guided tour

Manufacture des Gobelins - Duration 1h30

Discover your Guided tour

L'enclos des Gobelins it's 80 artists, 23,000 shades of color, 600 furnished French Republic palaces and 3 factories with a unique and traditional expertise in weaving which endures and grows over time.

The Gobelins Manufactory fashions tapestries by using the high-warp technique; the Beauvais Manufacture however uses the low-warp method; and the Soap Manufactory specializes in carpet weaving.
Dedicated to the furnishing and decorating in tapestry and carpets of official palaces, the factories have since 1900 made more than 2,000 masterpieces.

Your tour guide will take you to the nearest loom-warp craft-site, by taking you two of three active workshops!
Open your eyes wide and gaze at the meticulousness with which the craftworkers practice their art.
The delicate handling of the spindle, comb, and traced design; the perfect mastery of knots; the meticulous positioning of the mirror which is used to look over work in progress; as well as the preparation of the "warp"--all these techniques turn the human hand into the accomplished artist hand and the majestic machine into a delicate, high-end instrument.

You'll understand why the completion of a piece is proudly famous. After years of work, the masterpiece can be delivered, and the artist can finally look upon his work which, until then, can only be appreciated with frugality as conventional smoothing methods dictate.


Useful information

- The studio is a workplace; please respect the need for calm and focus of the art technicians. For the respect of image rights, it is strictly forbidden to take photos of workshops and art technicians.
- In a period of temporary display, this visit gives you free access to the current exhibition.
- Suitcases are neither accepted nor kept due to the Vigipirate plan.
- The route includes numerous staircases and cobbled courtyards, so avoid heeled shoes.
- Visiting areas are not air-conditioned.
- The tour is not suitable for people with reduced mobility.

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Access Manufacture des Gobelins

Address

Manufacture des Gobelins
42 Avenue des Gobelins, Paris 75013

Access

Métro : Gobelins (L7)