Joseph Dufour. Pacific Islanders. 1804.

Joseph Dufour et Cie (est. 1797)

Pacific Islanders
From: *“Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique” or “Les Voyages du Capitaine Cook”*
Designed by Jean-Gabriel Charvet (1750–1829)
Mâcon and Paris, France: 1804–1805 Block-printed wallpaper

Dimensions: 69" x 29"

This serene and beautifully composed panel from Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique offers an intimate glimpse into the rhythms of daily life among Pacific Island communities. Set against a lush tropical backdrop, women and children gather at the river’s edge, bathing and conversing under the soft shade of towering palms. Beyond the riverbank,
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villagers tend to their tasks around thatched homes, weaving together a portrait of communal life rooted in harmony with the land.
The composition is gentle yet lively — flowing from the activity at the water's edge to the distant village structures, all enclosed by luxuriant foliage. Charvet’s arrangement invites the viewer to experience the calm, abundant world of the islanders, emphasizing both the beauty of their surroundings and the rich social fabric of their lives. There is no urgency or conflict here, only a steady, cyclical rhythm shaped by environment, tradition, and kinship.
Historical and Cultural Context: Panels like this one reflect the deep admiration Enlightenment Europe developed for what it perceived as the natural balance of Pacific Island societies before extensive European contact.
• Early voyagers such as Captain James Cook recorded detailed observations of vibrant island communities whose agricultural, social, and spiritual systems were finely tuned to their environments.
• Far from the "untouched paradise" myth that later romanticized the Pacific, these societies were highly organized, with complex knowledge of agriculture, fishing, architecture, and governance — all of which allowed for sustainable living within fragile island ecosystems.
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In this panel, Charvet and Dufour transform those ethnographic observations into an idealized vision of Pacific life: peaceful, prosperous, and deeply connected to nature. While viewed through a neoclassical European lens, the composition still conveys a genuine reverence for the sophistication and grace of Pacific cultures.
This final scene in the series offers a fitting close to Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique — not with spectacle, but with the quiet dignity of everyday life, honoring the enduring strength, adaptability, and community spirit of the islanders who so captivated European imagination.