There were numerous links between the porcelain factories of England and France during the eighteenth century particularly that of Tournai and the Chelsea-Derby factory.
François Boucher was notably involved in the decorative arts of France producing decorative panels for interiors, designs for the Beauvais Tapestry Factory and for the Manufacturer Royal de Porcelaine de Sèvres.
He also produced a set of the Four Seasons which were engraved by Duflos and published by Gabriel Huquier c.1750 and which then became the source for a group of models made by Nicolas Francis Gauron for Tournai (worked 1758–64). Pierre Stephan also modelled at Tournai. Both these modellers came to work for William Duesbury at Chelsea c.1771 as did the painters Duvivier and Willems. Consequently a number of models created at Tournai are echoed by Chelsea-Derby versions.  The original Tournai set consisted of pairs of figures emblematic of the seasons — boys to represent Spring and Winter and girls to represent Summer and Autumn.
Because the modelling of these French seasons is not as sophisticated as the Tournai originals, the modelling has been attributed to Pierre Stephan. This group has stylistic affinities with the Rustic seasons made at Richard Champions Bristol factory where Stephan also worked.