THE TRIUMPH OF DAVID: David carrying the head of Goliath on his sword and surrounded by musicians is followed by King Saul and Jonathan on horseback. In the background a hilly landscape with the tents of the Hebrews. A narrow floral border.
The cartoon was painted by Jean Van Room, his signature appearing on another piece[24] of the same series in the Musée du Cinquantenaire, Brussels. Maître Philippe must have collaborated with him in this work, for a strong Italian influence is evident which appears only in the Van Room tapestries that have had Philippe's assistance.
Though the drawing and details show the incoming Renaissance influence, the full continuous narrative arrangement of the group, the strong vertical lines of the figures, and the simple modeling show the tarrying Gothic feeling. The groups are beautifully massed and the individual figures show great dignity.
22 SWITZERLAND, EARLY XVI CENTURY
Wool.
H. 4 ft. 3½ in.
W. 7 ft. 9½ in.
Formerly in the Collection of Comtesse Desautoy.
TWO PAIRS OF LOVERS: Two pairs of lovers are pictured against a background of vines with blue-green scrolled leaves and large red and yellow blossoms on a dark-blue field. The pair at the right is on either side of a Gothic pedestal on which is a small statue. The ladies are in red robes. One man is in a blue doublet, the other in a two-toned red brocaded cloak. Border of rose-vines and daisies.
The piece was probably woven in Basle, and is undoubtedly adapted from a wood-block illustration in one of Leonhard Ysenmuth's publications. The width and richness of the border indicate that it was done in the early XVIth rather than in the late XVth century.
The subject of pairs of lovers was quite a favorite one with German and Swiss weavers, and a number of them in different styles is left to us. The piece is probably the work of an amateur, a nun, or more probably some lady, who thus filled her long leisure hours. The wood-block print has been closely followed for the figures, even to such minor details as the very simple conventionalization of the hair. The vine background in rather a large scale is common to many Swiss tapestries of the period. The limited range of colors used is especially worthy of note, there being only three shades of blue, three of green-blue, three of tan, and two of red, in addition to the black for the outlines.
Lent by Wildenstein & Co.