Grotesques No. 36
For grace and charm, without any loss of strength, this surpasses most French work of the period. It is an unusually typical illustration of the French Renaissance which took the technique of the Italian revival of the antique and refashioned it to her own spirit, giving the classic goddesses, even in their dignity, youthful and feminine appeal, and refining the Italian opulence. The floreation in the foreground is as delicate as in a XVIth-century millefleurs, and the colors are unusually luminous.
Lent by Wildenstein & Company.
Francesco Primaticcio (1504-1570) studied under a disciple of Raphael and worked with Giulio Romano on the decorations of the Palace de Te, Mantua. In 1532 he went from Italy to Fontainebleau to work on the decorations there. In 1540 he returned to Italy to collect works of art for the king. He returned to France and continued to create decorations at Fontainebleau with a large staff of Italian painters as his collaborators. Under Francis II he became Superintendent of the Building.
38 PARIS, EARLY XVII CENTURY
Wool.
H. 13 ft.
W. 16 ft. 9 in.
THE NIOBIDES: Apollo and Artemis from a cloud shoot down the children of Niobe, thus avenging their mother, who had been outraged by Niobe's boasting that she had the more children. Border of fruit garlands and figures in camaieux.
Formerly in Marnier-Lapostalle Collection, Paris.
Reproduced:
Guiffrey, Les Gobelins et Beauvais, p. 15; Hauser y Menet, Los Tapices de la Corona de España, vol. 2, pl. 132.
Lent by Jacques Seligmann & Company.
The tapestry is one of the Artemis series designed for Marie de Medici by Toussaint du Breuil. It was woven on the looms which were under the direction of Marc Comans and François de la Planche, and which later became the Gobelins state manufactory. The cartoons were repeated many times with different borders. Judging by the border, this piece was woven about 1611.
The piece is a splendid example of the dramatic and monumental character of the productions of the pre-Gobelins looms.