Sèvres Porcelain Factory (French: Manufacture nationale de Sèvres).
Sèvres is a small town near Paris, located in one of the most picturesque parts of France, near the famous Saint-Cloud Park. The factory which made the town famous all over the world is located under a high hill, below the park.
The factory was originally founded in a castle in Vincennes and it manufactured mainly soft-paste porcelain products. From 1745 the factory had monopoly on porcelain production and it attracted the best artists, designers and jewelers.
The patron of the Vincennes and later Sèvres manufactory was Louis XV. Madame de Pompadour showed a keen interest in the affairs of the factory which was later named the Royal Porcelain Manufactory. In 1756 the factory was moved to Sèvres.
In the 1760s the Royal Porcelain Manufactory became indisputable leader in the production of luxury porcelain, surpassing the best Meissen samples. Annual exhibitions are held.
Famous artist François Boucher, “the first royal painter”, worked at the factory. Rich and amazingly pure colors of the paintings on porcelain are one of the main characteristics of the Sèvres porcelain. Colors of the Sèvres porcelain differed in brightness and purity of the color, and paintings themselves stand out by variety of motifs and mastery of the artists.
Flowers became favorite motifs of the artists of the factory. The themes of the Sèvres porcelain paintings are especially interesting.
Cupids on the clouds or in a landscape are made in one tone: purple or blue and can be found in early works of the factory. Later the artists used popular themes and turned Cupids into child gardeners or little fishermen.