Hermes Scarf Jardins des Metamorphoses Rare Probably Unworn

Absolutely beautiful; this pink, peach and orange coloured scarf is so intricate, and feels mint. We think it’s probably unworn, but oddly in the centre, there is very slight creasing and teeny weeny marks, which we believe must come from storage. All the weight, sheen and caretag of a pristine, as new, scarf remain intact. Condition 9.9/10.

Designed in 2010 by Francois Houtin, Hermes writes: “Horses stampede, hitching their manes to the tops of trees. About them, attentively still, like temple keepers, the bear, heron, squirrel, fox or boar watch. Time is suspended. What dream will this garden dramatise? Two aesthetic universes inspired this carré. In Renaissance Italy, the painter, Andrea Mantegna, designed the plan of his house inscribing a circle within a “carré”-like square. In eighteenth century France, the château de Raray saw the surroundings of its courtyard adorned with a strange procession of sculpted animals. This Picardie château later became the film set of Jean Cocteau’s “Beauty and the Beast”. As for the oak whose branches entwine the scene, this carré is its homage.”

François Houtin was born in Craon en Mayenne, France in 1950. He has lived and worked in Paris since 1971. He was trained as a landscape architect and worked on such prominent projects as the renovation of the Jardin des Tuileries in 1991. It wasn’t until 1973 that he learned printmaking from Jean Delpech, and by 1979 he had become a full-time artist known for his highly detailed prints of utopian gardens. His prints mix equal parts of superb draughtsmanship, deep appreciation for the history of Classical French landscape architecture, and his own unfettered imagination.

He was awarded the Prix de Gravure Lacourière in 1981, and the Prix de Gravure Florence Gould in 1986. In 1991 he became a member of the Société des Peintres-Graveurs Français.

While etching remains his preferred mode of expression since 2002 François Houtin has also made very large ink wash drawings on paper and canvas. For four years, he produced windows for Hermes, monumental decorations of foliage and beautiful frescos painted in tempera.