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Other art tapestries
These tapestry wall hangings constitute a very broad range of styles, movements and subject matter that reflect the diversity inherent in art.
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$100.00
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$684.00
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$450.00
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$799.00
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$284.00
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$149.00
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$565.00
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$899.00
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$239.00
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$210.00
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$499.00
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$864.00
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$464.00
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$100.00
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$100.00
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$249.00
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$1,500.00
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$499.00
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$820.00
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$445.00
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$1,300.00
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$104.00
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$192.00
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$134.00
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$414.00
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$240.00
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$995.00
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$315.00
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$262.00
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$895.00
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$249.00
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$399.00
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$249.00
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$105.00
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$886.00
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$349.00
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$399.00
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$219.00
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$689.00
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$340.00
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$455.00
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$690.00
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$600.00
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$425.00
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$690.00
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$439.00
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$690.00
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$960.00
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$464.00
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$255.00
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$399.00
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$699.00
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$195.00
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$425.00
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$425.00
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$448.00
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$1,040.00
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$575.00
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$699.00
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$160.00
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$899.00
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$900.00
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$135.00
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$106.00
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$106.00
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$106.00
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$106.00
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$496.00
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$496.00
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$496.00
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$496.00
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$496.00
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$346.00
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$422.00 ~ $795.00
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$422.00 ~ $795.00
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$150.00 | $275.00
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$92.00 ~ $325.00
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$199.00 ~ $499.00
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RUBENS TAPESTRIES
The art of tapestry was suddenly changed by the unexpected advent of Rubens, who introduced many important modifications. One technical alteration was due to the fact that he made his own designs [enlarged into cartoons by pupils] in oils, not tempera, as was customary in the past. This presented the weavers with difficult problems [how were they to reproduce in the weave transparent and diaphanous elements and the sophisticated lighting effects?] which were only partly solved by cross-hatchings with different colours. But the most important change was in the new composition and expression.
If we must find a suitable for this style, it is ‘Baroque’, at least in the sense that the woven background became an artificial stage set only just containing the gigantic figures of gods and heroes, vices and virtues, densely massed and participating in certain specific actions. Compared with the decorative detail, the backgrounds counted for little. All subsidiary figures are eliminated from the canvas; the protagonists must belong figuratively to the powerful social world to which Rubens belonged.
The History of Decius Mus was already, in 1617, on the looms of Jan Raes and Frans van den Hecke. The History of Constantine [1613-1624], the first tapestry of which was woven not in Brussels but in Paris, was commissioned by Louis XIII of France. Compared with other series designed by Rubens, its composition has a static quality, supposedly linked to the influence of classic models. The hypothesis is probably sound, although adherence to the antique forms did not hamper the artist’s original genius. In the Battle of the Milvian Bridge the tangled group of knights and their horses plunging headlong into the river mingling with the ruined arches of the bridge is a masterpiece of Baroque boldness.
The first cartoons were seen in a preview in Paris by ‘almost all those employed by the King in public works’, among them Peirese, who told Rubens that ‘they all had to confess that these were the work of a great man, of the noblest genius ..... Particularly admired on the ruined bridge were the two figures handing by their hands, one of which, the wounded man hanging by one hand, seems to me perfect and inimitable [although certain experts talk of artistic deficiencies in the lower part of the thigh], while the other man, suspended by two hands, was the object of general admiration.’ The criticisms of the French courtiers were, taken all in all, largely academic, and they ignore the purpose and hanging of the cartoon. The distorted proportions were intentional, to give animation to the scene.
In 1617-1628 Jan Raes wove the first tapestry of the Triumph of the Eucharist, commissioned by the Archduchess Isabella for the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, where it still is. The theme was based on the figurative tradition of ‘triumphs’; but even these avquire in Rubens’ hands new and varied implications. The allegory is duly expresse4dm but it isthe human vitality which predominates, seeming even to overflow the borders, which have now become an integral part of the main composition. This was the end of those ornate flower borders, with mythological and grotesque animals, which had recently been vying with the central design. Instead the columns, like architectural frames, support undulating draperies, framing the eucharistic processions. Nothing was to distract or divert the attention from the main theme. The same energy is seen in the Achilles series, started by Rubens and completed by Jakob Jordaens [Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Palazzi Reali, Turin and Carignano and numerous other collections]. The School of Rubens
Skill in relating episodes and narration reappeared in the works of the designer Jakob Jordaens. Though in the tradition of Rubens, he was somewhat freer in treatment. He left many series: the Ulysses [Palazzo Reale, Turin; Quirnale, Rome; weaver, G van der Strecken]; the History of Alexander; the History of Charlemagne [Quirinale, Rome; weavers, J Cordys and M Roelants]; County Life [Vienna; weaver C van der Bruggen]; Great Horses[Vienna; weavers, H Reydams and E Leyniers]; the Proverbs [Vienna; weaver, J Cordys; and the Diocesan Museum, Tarragona]. The same motif was repeated in several series, with a facility of adaptation which showed that Jordaens aimed principally at pleasant decorative effects. In the Months, from cartoons by van den Hoecke, the decorative character can always be seen in the lively pictorial design, which shows the influence of the French tapestry in Brussels.
Yet Flemish weavers were still flourishing. Work went on in Antwerp as well as Brussels [Dido and Aeneas by Wauters from cartoons by Romanelli], and in Oudenaarde [Calvary in the church of Sta Maria Maggiore at Bergamo; weaver, Han Regelbrugghe]. The Brussels workshops produced tapestries of the highest quality; but from the middle of the 17th century they encountered difficulties. The House of Austria, on which Flanders politically, supported the industry with large orders; occasionally there were clients such as Charles emanuel II of Savoy who, over a period of ten years, ordered hundreds of tapestries for the new royal palace in Turin. But the markets in France, Holland, England and Italy were more difficult, for the workshops were being opened there in increasing quantities, and competition fiercer.
They attempted a revival, taking advantage of the fashion for ‘Tenières’ genre tapestries based on the pictures of Teniers and other painters of his school, which had an enormous success. But this very success was a disadvantage, because their work was immediately copied everywhere.
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