Catalogue of the Retrospective Loan Exhibition of European Tapestries

by San Francisco Museum of Art; Phyllis Ackerman

ADDENDA

The tapestries entered under this heading were received
too late to be entered in their proper order
in the body of the catalogue.

75 BRUSSELS, BEGINNING OF XVI CENTURY

Wool, Silk, Gold.
H. 9 ft. 1 in.
W. 7 ft. 8 in.

THE RESURRECTION: The risen Christ discovered by Peter. Upper left, the Agony in Gethsemane; upper right, Christ appearing to Mary in the garden. In the background, the angel appearing to the three women. Border of fruits and flowers, grapes, roses, and iris interspersed with finches and a paroquet.

This tapestry, the last of a series illustrating the Passion of Our Lord, was designed in the studio of Bernard Van Orley, and may be the work of Van Orley himself, though there were some of his students and followers who in purity of conception and elevation and sensitiveness of feeling were superior at times to the master himself. The weaving, unsurpassable in technical perfection, may be the work of the Pannemaker looms. The quality of the design and weaving and the lavish use of gold all indicate that this series was made for a great church or a noble family.

Formerly in the Collection of the Duc d'Albe.

The weavers at this period had attained complete mastery of the shuttle. This absolute technical control made possible the exact translation into tapestry of the intricate Renaissance patterns. The finish and elegance of the goldsmith's art which characterized so much of Renaissance design is perfectly rendered.

However, while the weaving was fitted to the requirements of the Renaissance at this time, it had not yet sacrificed any of its qualities as tapestry. Nor did the designs of Bernard Van Orley force the weavers out of their proper limitations. For though he was Italian trained and saturated with Renaissance influences, he was still close to the technical problems of the weaver's art and he adjusted the new manner in painting to them. So this piece is rich in jewel-like detail that enriches without crowding the whole surface. The drawing of the flowers and the birds is exquisite. The figures also, in spite of their dramatic force, keep the aloof poise that decorative art demands. Finally, by means of a dispersion of substantial tones, the brilliant suffusion of golden light which the Renaissance loved is fully achieved.

Such a scene as this is, in short, one of the last great monuments of the perfection of Gothic tapestry, reinspired by the new insights of the Renaissance before the ostentation and mistaken conventions of Raphael misguided the entire art.

Lent by Mrs. William H. Crocker.

Nor is it merely a technical triumph. It is the direct expression of a profound religious emotion which shines through the material beauty, elevates it above earthly things, and sets it apart in glory. Easter has scarce had a lovelier celebration.

76 BRUSSELS, XVI CENTURY

Wool and Silk.
H. 15 ft.
W. 19 ft.

THE TRIUMPH OF WISDOM: Wisdom with her two herons rides in a chariot drawn by mythological beasts. In the upper right are Perseus and Pegasus. Before the chariot are Ahasuerus, Abigail, David, and Saba. Cassandra walks beside, while Titus and his soldiers, Rachel, and Judith with the head of Holofernes bring up the rear. In the upper left Prometheus, in the lower Cadmus, contending with the dragons.

This is one of a very famous set of tapestries illustrating the Triumphs of Petrarch and a number of other Triumphs invented by French poets in imitation of Petrarch. The cartoons are evidently the product of the studio of Maître Philippe (cf. Nos. 19, 20), for the heads of several of the minor characters are regular models, often repeated in his work. The cartoons were painted and also executed before 1523, because in that year Henry VII bought eight of the set, four of which are still at Hampton Court. This piece, however, was woven in the middle of the century, as is shown by the character of the heavy floral border. In the selvage is the Brussels city mark and the mark of the Brussels weaver, Leo Van den Hecke.

Lent by Mrs. William H. Crocker.

The design is full of the oblique symbolism that the period loved. The allusions are drawn with equal interest from classic tradition, secular history, and Christian legend. The entire past has been laid under tribute with magnificent disregard of historical, social, and religious congruity. Such an unclassified assemblage of exciting personalities might even cause confusion in the Day of Judgment. It is typical of the Renaissance catholicity, the Renaissance eagerness to assimilate all knowledge and be always as impressive as possible. Yet the figures still have some of the stately restraint of the Gothic, and the dispersion of the points of interest, so that the whole textile is equally covered, is a remainder from the Gothic taste. Truly transitional, it represents the final stage of Maître Philippe's development.

77 FLANDERS, ENGHIEN (?), XVI CENTURY

Wool and Silk.
H. 5 ft.
W. 6 ft. 11 in.
Lent by Mrs. William H. Crocker.

VERDURE: Scrolling leaves in rich blue-green with red and yellow flowers and fruits on a very deep-blue ground. A wide border of clusters of flowers and fruits.

This is a notably brilliant example of the characteristic Renaissance verdure. The drawing is both accurate and vivacious, the colors pure, deep, and brilliant, the wool of extraordinary firmness and lustre, while the weave is remarkably close for the type. Tapestries of this class are so often perfunctory in conception and mechanical in execution that we need a piece of this clarity, strength, and perfect finish to show how splendid are the possibilities inherent in the simple design.

78 FLANDERS, LATE XVII CENTURY

Wool and Silk.
H. 11 ft. 8 in.
W. 15 ft.
Lent by Mrs. William H. Crocker.

THE CABRIOLE: A young knight shows his skill in jumping his horse. At the left a page leads in a sumptuously caparisoned horse. At the right a large fountain is seen through the trees, and in the background is a formal garden with fountains.

Such very decorative verdures, half realistic landscapes, were among the finest products of the late XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries. Audenarde looms wove many of the best pieces of the type, and this piece probably came from that district. The fountain is rendered with delightful detail and animation, and the drawing of flowing waters, a trying problem for tapestry, is managed with admirable dexterity.

79 ANTWERP, LATE XVII CENTURY

Wool and Silk.
H. 32 in.
W. 24 in.
Illustrated: Schmitz, Bild-Teppiche, p. 265.
Lent by Mrs. William H. Crocker.

SCENES FROM THE CHILDHOOD OF CHRIST: On a black ground strewn with flowers, five oval panels framed with wreaths: the Annunciation; the Nativity; the Adoration of the Magi; the Circumcision; the Flight into Egypt.

This very unusual tapestry was the work of Balthasar Bosmanns, one of the greatest weavers of Antwerp. The realistically drawn yet richly decorative flowers show the influence of the school of flower painters of which Jan Brueghel was the most famous. The landscape in the Adoration and the Flight into Egypt are rendered with exquisite delicacy. The effect of the panels in such light, fresh, almost pastel colors against the black ground is a daring and striking decorative experiment. Another rendering of the same cartoon is in the Kunstgewerbe Museum, Berlin.

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