Audrey Zambetti Zinman – Découpeur

Decoupage originates from the French word “decouper” meaning “to cut”.  The art of cutting paper as an art form originated in China and became all the rage in Europe in the late 17th and early 18th centuries as trade routes from the East developed.  Furniture, vases, screens and fans were decorated with paper cutouts which were applied with glue and then varnished.  So popular was this art form, that it became difficult to find the prints created by engravers for cutting.  Decoupeurs were forced to resort to cutting anything they could find.  During the reign of Louis XVI, for example, Marie Antoinette and the court began to cut up original paintings by the likes of Boucher and Fragonard!  After the Victorian era, interest in decoupage began to wane until the 1960’s where there was a resurgence in its popularity.