The work is thoroughly naïve, but it has the strong appeal of genuineness and directness common to naïve designs and shows a strong feeling for decorative quality.
23-25 BRUSSELS, SECOND QUARTER XVI CENTURY
Wool, Silk, Gold.
No. 23:
H. 13 ft. 5 in.
W. 15 ft. 4 in.
No. 24:
H. 13 ft. 5 in.
W. 20 ft.
No. 25:
H. 13 ft. 5 in.
W. 20 ft.
THREE SCENES FROM THE DEEDS OF SCIPIO: In the first piece (No. 23) Scipio enthroned offers the mural crown to Caius Laelius. Roman army officers stand about. In the background the army is assembled.
In the second piece (No. 24) Scipio is about to land in Africa. In the foreground two vessels filled with soldiers. In the background the city of Utica.
In the third piece (No. 25) Hannibal approaches Scipio to sue for peace. In the background the opposing armies face each other on either side of a river.
The pieces bear the Brussels city mark and the monogram H.M. (Hubert de Mecht). The cartoons are attributed to Giulio Romano, fifteen of the original small drawings being in the Louvre. There are in all eighteen pieces in this set, and two subsequent sets, the Triumphs of Scipio and the Fruits of War, make a total of thirty-five pieces in the complete history, one of the largest sequences ever attempted in tapestry.
Illustrated: Hauser y Menet, Los Tapices de la Corona de España, vol. 2, pl. 93; Burlington, 1916, pp. 58-66, in connection with article by George Leland Hunter, Scipio Tapestries Now in America.
Lent by Duveen Brothers.
The cartoons have been woven a number of times and examples have been included in many famous collections, including that of Francis I. These pieces were so rich in gold that they were burned to obtain the metal during the Revolution.
These three pieces are from one of the earliest weavings, and in perfection of execution and sumptuousness of material far surpass most of the renderings, ranking with the greatest productions of the early Renaissance. The use of the metal is particularly effective, occurring as it does in three techniques, plain weaving, basket weaving, which always gives a heavy richness, and couching.