m^m^^^m^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^mmBMl THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ARCHITECTURE LIB. GIFT OF MRS. CHARLES SUMNER GREENE AND NATHANIEL GREENE FROM THE LIBRARY OF CHARLES SUMNER GREENE ttiih^'nyifrVV—nrirnn TAPESTRIES THEIR ORIGIN, HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE tniHirJHlDWK HinUM H VERTUMNUS AND POMONA This is the most perfect Beauvais-Boucher tapestry I have ever seen, and the illustration is singularly fortunate in suggest- ing—though not in reproducing — the exquisite tones of the original. It is 10 feet 2 by 8 feet 6, comes from the Casimir-Perier col- lection, having been acquired about 80 years ago by the grand- father of the late President of France, was designed by Francois Boucher, whose reversed signature (F. Boucher 1757) appears on the edge of the marble table, and was woven at Beauvais by A. C. Charron, who in 1753 became manager of the works on the death of Nicolas Besnier. It is valued at $120,000 and was in America only just long enough last winter for me to have fh< colour plates made. I TAPESTRIES THEIR ORIGIN, HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE BY GEORGE LELAND HUNTER With Four Illustrations in Color AND 147 Halftone Engravings New York— JOHN LANE COMPANY London— JOHN LANE— THE BODLEY HEAD Toronto— BELL & COCKBURN Copyright, 1912, by John Lane Company Architecture Add'l GIFT PUBl.ISHKKS PRINTING COMPANY, NEW YORK, r. S. A. jvkz ns ARCH. UBRARY PREFACE Among those to whom I am especially indebted for assistance in the preparation of this book are the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and its President, Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan, whose gifts and loans have done so much to make the Museum the centre of tapestry interest on this side of the Atlantic. Mr. William Clifford of the Library of the Metro- politan Museum, who has assembled there the best collection of tapestry books in the United States, and whose advice and suggestions have been invaluable. The Hon. Robert McCormick, American Ambas- sador to France, and Mr. Spencer Eddy, Secretary of the American Legation at St. Petersburg, for introductions given me on the occasion of my visit to Europe in 1906. • . ^ » Mr. Jules Guiffrey, Administrator of the Gobelins. Many museums and individuals and dealers for photographs or permission to illustrate. Among the individuals: Mr. George Blumenthal, the Duke of Devonshire, Lord Anglesey, Lord Fortescue, Mrs. A. Yon Zedlitz, Mr. Philip Hiss, Mrs. Oscar Berg, Miss Ada Thurston, Mrs. Nicholas Longworth. 5 546 6 PREFACE Among the dealers and makers: Messrs. Morris & Co., for plates nos. 129, 131, 133, 135, 137, 2^; Gimpel & Wildenstein for colour plate no. I; Wm. Baumgarten & Co. for nos. 167, 207, 209, 211, 247, 249, 251, 253; the Tiffany Studios for no. 147; W. Ziesch & Co. for no. 319; the Palmer & Embury Mfg. Co. for colour plate no. IV; the Herter Looms for no. 215; P. W. French & Co. for nos. 161, 187, 305, 351, 36i. With the bibliography of tapestries, as presented in chapter XV, I have taken great pains, in order to lighten the labour of those who wish to pursue further the study of this fascinating subject. To me personally tapestries are the most interest- ing and delightful form of art, combining as they do picture interest with story interest and texture interest. If to some slight degree I have succeeded in expressing this interest on the pages of my first book, so that it shall please even the casual reader, my labour will not have been in vain. George Leland Hunter. New York, October, 1912. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I page The Renaissance of Tapestries 15 CHAPTER II Gothic Tapestries 33 CHAPTER III Renaissance Tapestries 77 CHAPTER IV Flemish and Burgundian Looms. Arras, Brussels, Tournai, Bruges, Enghien, Oudenarde, Middlebourg, Lille, Antwerp, Delft 99 CHAPTER V English Looms. Mortlake, Merton, Barcheston, Windsor 105 CHAPTER VI The Gobelins, Beauvais and Aubusson ..... 153 CHAPTER VII Other Looms. American, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian, Swedish, Norwegian 206 CHAPTER VIII The Texture of Tapestries. Arras Tapestries. Greek and Roman Tapestries. High Warp and Low Warp. The Process of Weaving 232 CHAPTER IX Designs and Cartoons. Portraits in Tapestries. Counter- feit Arras. Animals in Tapestries. Verdures . . . 255 7 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER X page Tapestry Signatures and Makers. Tapestry Captions. Tapes- try Borders. Tapestry Shapes and Sizes and Measurements 267 CHAPTER XI The Bible in Tapestries 279 CHAPTER XII History and Romance in Tapestries 295 CHAPTER XIII Tapestry Point of View and Perspective. Tapestry Light and Shade 311 CHAPTER XIV The Care of Tapestries. How to Hang, Clean, Repair and Store Them 317 CHAPTER XV Tapestry Museums, Collections, Expositions, Inventories, Sales and Books 323 CHAPTER XVI The Tapestries at the Metropolitan Museum . . . 368 General Index 417 Index of Bibliography 437 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Colour plate no. I Vertumnus and Pomona . . Frontispiece PAGE Colour plate no. II A Flemish Garden Party . . . Opposite 32 Colour plate no. Ill The Bridal Chamber of Herse . . Opposite 76 Colour plate no. IV An Aubusson Chair Back . . . Opposite 198 Scenes from the Story of Man, a Gothic Tapestry belonging to Lord Anglesey ........... 17 Adam Naming the Animals in the Garden of Eden. Italian Renais- sance Tapestry in the Florence Museum ..... 19 The Bath of Cupid and Psyche. Louis XVI Gobelin, after Renais- sance Design .......... 23 An Interior Showing Tapestries Properly Used .... 25 A Flemish Banquet Scene. Late Gothic Tapestry in the Musee des Arts Decoratifs .......... 27 King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Gothic Tapestry in the Milan Poldi Pezzoli Museum ....... 29 The Wedding Gift of France to the Daughter of the American Presi- dent, a Modern Gobelin Tapestry ...... 31 Saint Gereon Fragment, in the Lyons Museum .... 35 The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. Gothic XIV Century Tapestry ........... 37 The Story of the Apocalypse. Gothic XIV Century Tapestry in the Cathedral of Angers ......... 39 The Burgundian Sacraments. The Oldest Tapestry at the Metropoli- tan Museum . ........ 46, 47 The Lady with the Unicorn. Gothic Tapestry at the Cluny Museum 49 The Giving of the Roses. Gothic Decorative Tapestry . . 53 Sheep Shearing. A Fascinating Gothic Fragment in the Brussels Museum ........... 55 One of the Four Famous Hardwicke Hall Hunting Tapestries . 57 The Siege of Troy. Gothic Tapestry in the Victoria and Albert Museum ........... 59 Roland at Roncevaux. Gothic Tapestry ..... 61 The Story of Saint Remi, in the Church of Saint Remi at Reims . 65 The Story of the Virgin. Gothic-Renaissance Transition Tapestry at Beaune . .......... 69 The Marriage of Cana. Late Gothic Tapestry .... 71 9 10 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Miracles of the Eucharist. Gothic Tapestry, in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts .......... 73 The Story of Saints Gervais and Protais. Gothic-Renaissance Transition Tapestry at Le Mans ...... 75 Notre Dame du Sablon, an Early Renaissance Tapestry in the Brussels Museum ........... 79 Raphael's Acts of the Apostles. The Miraculous Draft of Fish, at the Vatican 83 Raphael's Acts of the Apostles. Cartoon of the Miraculous Draft of Fish, at the Victoria and Albert Museum .... 85 Raphael's Acts of the Apostles. The Cure of the Paralytic in the Royal Spanish Collection ........ 89 Raphael's Acts of the Apostles. The Conversion of Saul at Hampton Court, and the Miraculous Draft of Fish at the Beauvais Cathedral 91 Raphael's Acts of the Apostles. Christ's Charge to Saint Peter, Mortlake Tapestry in the French National Collection . . 93 Interview between Scipio and Hannibal. Renaissance Tapestry in the Royal Spanish Collection ....... 95 Crossing the Red Sea. Renaissance Tapestry in the Imperial Austrian Collection ........... 97 Scene from the Book of Kings. Renaissance Tapestry . . 101 Apollo and the Muses. Brussels XVIII Century Tapestry . . 103 Vulcan's Complaint to Jupiter. Mortlake ..... 107 Hero and Leander. Mortlake Tapestry in Sweden . . . 121 Two Vulcan and Venus Mortlake Tapestries, one in the French Na- tional Collection and the other on Loan in the Metropolitan Museum ........... 123 The Knights of the Round Table, one of the Merton Holy Grail Set 129 The Departure of the Knights, one of the Merton Holy Grail Set . 131 The Failure of Sir Lancelot, one of the Merton Holy Grail Set . 133 The Star of Bethlehem, a Merton Tapestry at Exeter College . 135 The Blindfolding of Truth, a Merton Tapestry, after Byam Shaw . 137 Oriental Scenes, an English Tapestry of the Late XVII Century . 147 Scene from the Story of Artemisia. Paris XVII Century, after XVI Century Design ......... 155 Scene from the Story of Gombaut and Mace .... 161 The Air. Gobelin Tapestry after Lebrun ..... 165 Chateau de Chambord, one of the 12 Royal Residences of Louis XIV, Designed by Lebrun and His Assistants ..... 167 Louis XIV Visiting the Gobelins. Gobelin Tapestry Designed by Lebrun and Woven under His Directions ..... 169 Diana, a Grotesque Panel after Claude Audran. Louis XIV Gobelin 175 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 11 Vertumnus and Pomona, Small Oval Panel on Damasse Ground. Gobelin XVIII Century Tapestry after Boucher . . . 181 Two Modern Gobelin Tapestries. The Arms of Bordeaux, and the First Civil Marriage 183 Beauvais XVIII Century Screen Panel Bearing the Arms of the Holy Roman Empire .......... 187 A Chinese Return from Fishing. Aubusson XVIII Century Tapes- try in the Collection of M. Martin Le Roy .... 203 A Late Gothic Hunting Scene, Designed and Woven in America . 207 Winter, an American-made Tapestry Portiere .... 209 An American-made Cantonniere . . . . . . .211 A Late Gothic Verdure with Personages, Designed and Woven in America ........... 215 March, April, May. Italian Renaissance Tapestry after Bacchiacca in the Florence Tapestry Museum ...... 219 Night Symbolized by Diana and Her Nymphs. Tapestry Woven by Fevere (Lefevre) in the Florence Museum .... 221 Russian Tapestry Portraits of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great 229 Modern Norwegian Tapestry 231 Weaving Arras Tapestries at Merton 233 Model Loom. The Loom and the Tools 247 The Weavers at Work 249 Weaving the Lisses. Threading the Lisses ..... 251 The Dye Materials and the Dyeing Room ..... 253 Saint Luke Painting the Virgin. Tapestry in the Louvre, after Van Der Weyden 257 The Nativity of the Virgin. Gothic- Renaissance Transition Tapes- try at Reims 261 The Audience Given by Louis XIV, at Fontainebleau, to the Pope's Ambassador 263 Children Playing. Enghien Verdure ...... 265 The Triumph of the Virgin, a Gothic Tapestry given to the Louvre by Baron Davillier 269 Cleopatra, Brussels XVII Century. Scene from Tasso's Jerusalem Liberated, Italian XVIII Century 277 The Creation. Late Gothic Tapestry Sold with the Collection of the Duke of Berwick and Alba in 1877 281 The Story of David. Gothic Tapestry at the Cluny Museum . 283 Part of a Story of David Tapestry, at the Cluny Museum . . 285 The Story of Tobias. Two Tapestries, one Delft XVII Century; the other Gobelin XVIII Century 287 12 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS The Perfections of the Virgin. One of the Gothic- Renaissance Set at the Cathedral of Reims, Picturing the Story of the Virgin . 289 Joshua Helped Across the Jordan by Jehovah. Renaissance Tapes- try in the Imperial Austrian Collection ..... 291 The Adoration of the Magi and the Adoration of the Shepherds . 293 The Story of Clovis, at Reims ....... 299 Two Scenes from the Story of Achilles. Brussels XVII Century . 303 Dido Showing /Eneas the Plans of Carthage .... 305 The Flaying of Marsyas by Apollo. Renaissance Tapestry in the Royal Spanish Collection ........ 307 The Capture of Francis I. Renaissance Tapestry in the Naples Museum 309 Joan of Arc Entering Chinon. German Gothic Tapestry . . 313 A Panel from the Boscoreale Frescoes ...... 315 Tapestry Before and After Repairing ...... 319 Susannah and the Elders. In the Victoria and Albert Museum . 325 Gothic Concert with Mille Fleur Ground. A Masterpiece of Tapes- try Weaving and Design ........ 327 The King's Return, an Early German Tapestry .... 329 Two XVII Century Tapestries: one made in Paris, the other in Brussels ........... 331 Animals Fighting, a Gobelin Tapestry that Spent 150 Years in China ............ 333 The Four Elements and Time. Brussels XVII Century Tapestry in Sweden ........... 335 A Game of Backgammon. Brussels XVII Century Tapestry after Teniers ........... 337 Calvary. A Renaissance Tapestry after Van Orley, Recently Sold at Public Sale in Paris for $66,000 339 The Baptism of Christ and the Descent from the Cross. Two Early Renaissance Tapestries ........ 341 The Story of Telemachus. Brussels XVII Century Tapestry . 343 The Wood Cutters. A Fascinating Gothic Tapestry in the Musee des Arts Decoratifs ......... 345 The Story of Judith and Holophernes. Gothic Tapestry . . 347 Crossing the Red Sea. Gothic Tapestry in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts 349 The Triumph of David, an Early Renaissance Tapestry in the Ffoulke Collection ......... 351 Italian Renaissance Grotesque Tapestry in the Florence Tapestry Museum ........... 353 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 13 PAGE Fete of Henri II and Catherine. Renaissance Tapestry in the Flor- ence Tapestry Museum ........ 355 Latona, and the Peasants Transformed into Frogs. Louis XIV Gobelin Tapestry after Mignard ...... 357 The Triumph of Gluttony. An Early Renaissance Tapestry . 359 One of Teniers' Peasant Scenes. "At the Red Cross Inn" . . 361 The Angel Delivers St. Peter. Gothic Tapestry in the Cluny Museum 363 The Triumph of Fame. Late Gothic Tapestry .... 365 Fructus Belli, the Capture of a City. Renaissance Tapestry in the Imperial Austrian Collection ....... 367 The Priceless Mazarin Triumph of Christ. A Late Gothic Triptych Tapestry Lent to the Metropolitan Museum by Mr. Morgan . 369 The Triumph of Christ. Late Gothic Tapestry in the Brussels Museum ........... 370 The Story of Charlemagne, a Gothic Tapestry in a New York Private Collection 371 The Triumph of the Virgin, a Gothic Tapestry in the Royal Spanish Collection 372 The Departure of John the Baptist. Gothic- Renaissance Transition Tapestry Attributed to Van Eyck, in the Royal Spanish Collec- tion 373 The Triumph of Cupid. Late Gothic Tapestry in the Imperial Austrian Collection ......... 375 The Capture of Calais. Renaissance Tapestry in the Royal Spanish Collection 377 One of the Arabesque Months. Louis XIV Gobelin after XVI Cen- tury Design .......... 379 The Family of Darius at Alexander's Feet. Late Renaissance Tapes- try in the Royal Spanish Collection ..... 381 Autumn, Brussels Late XVII Century Tapestry .... 383 Diana Attending a Wounded Huntress, an XVIII Century Flemish Tapestry 385 Children Gathering Grapes. Renaissance Tapestry in the Royal Spanish Collection ......... 387 The Story of Hercules. Gothic Tapestry ..... 389 The Months January and March, two Gobelin Tapestries after XVI Century Designs, the first now in Sweden in a Private Collection, the second in the French National Collection .... 391 Saint Paul Before Agrippa and Berenice. Renaissance Tapestry in the Royal Spanish Collection ....... 393 The Triumph of Time, and the Triumph of Cupid . . . 395 14 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Hercules Kills the Dragon that Guards the Hesperides. Renaissance Tapestry in the Imperial Austrian Collection .... 399 The Roman Colosseum in Action. Late Renaissance Tapestry at the Metropolitan Museum ....... 401 The Story of Esther. Gothic Tapestry ...... 403 The Rape of the Sabines. Renaissance Tapestry in the Royal Spanish Collection ......... 405 The Capture of Jerusalem, Gothic. The Capture of a City, Renais- sance ............ 410 Part of the Capture of Jerusalem. Gothic Tapestry, at the Metro- politan Museum ......... 411 Two Scenes from the Life of Christ. Late German Renaissance . 415 CHAPTER I The Renaissance of Tapestries Prices of Tapestries. Gothic, Renaissance, XVII and XVIII Century Tapestries The renaissance of tapestries is an accomplished fact. After being neglected for over a hundred years, they are again held in highest esteem. Again the art world has become sufficiently intelligent to appreciate their surpassing virtues. The XIX century was pre-eminent mechanically, commercially, scientifically, and politically, but not artistically. It not only failed to produce, it often failed even to preserve. Rare and splendid Gothic works of art like the Hunting Tapestries at Hardwicke Hall in England were cut up into draperies; or into bed-spreads and floor rugs, like the wonderful series of the Apocalypse at the cathedral of Angers in France, which for a time was even used in the greenhouse of the Abbey of Saint Serge to protect the orange trees from the cold. The vandalism began during the French Revolu- tion. On November 30, 1793, a number of tapestries that bore feudal or anti-revolutionary emblems were burned at the foot of the Tree of Liberty. Less 15 16 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN guilty ones were sold for a song. Others were forced upon creditors in settlement of State debts. A striking example of this and one of particular interest to Americans is cited by Abbe Pihan in his little volume entitled "Beauvais." He says: "The United States possesses some very fine Beauvais tapestries. This is how: The Committee of Safety in 1793 imported some American wheat, and when the time came to pay proffered assignats. Naturally enough, the Yankees objected. But there wasn't any money, so what was to be done? Then they offered and the United States was obliged to accept in payment, some Beauvais tapestries and some copies of the Moniteur ." Possibly these tapestries have been preserved and still adorn American homes or are safely stored in American attics. Any clue to their whereabouts would be welcomed by the writer. The worst was yet to come. By 1797 the market for tapestries was so dead that the French Directory decided it would pay better to burn those containing gold and silver than to sell them. This was done and precious metals to the amount of about $13,000 (65,000 to 66,000 francs) were recovered. Such stupidity seems incredible, especially in France, the home of the arts. In a few minutes 190 of the most magnificent tapestries ever woven were annihilated. To-day they would bring 200 times $13,000, and in a few years many times more. Gothic and Renaissance tapestries of good weave and design and in good condition, are now a better STORY OF MAN PLATE no. 17. Scenes from the Story of Man, or the Seven Deadly Sins (See chapter XI), a Gothic tapestry from Langford Hill, Cornwall, sold in London in igio to the agent of Lord Anglesey for £6600. It is 13 feet 4 by 13 feet 9 and is part of one of the set of nine that formerly belonged to Cardinal Wolsey, three of which still hang at Hampton Court. In the lower right corner, King David bearing a scroll, inscribed in Latin, with the verse from the XLV Psalm: " Gird thyself with thy sword upon thy thigh, O, thou most mighty." The lady in the foreground facing him is Charity as shown by the inscription on her gown. The other seven richly attired ladies are the Seven Deadly Sins. Envy is pictured as giving up her gauntlet to Charity. In the upper right corner is a Knight in armor attended by the Seven Virtues, of whom Charity presents him with a banner picturing the five wounds of Christ. The band across the top bearing the arms of Henry VIII, is a portion of the frieze made for the Great Hall of Hampton Court, fragments of which are still there. 18 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN investment than any other form of ancient art. Yet the present prices are from 50 to 100 times higher than those of fifty years ago. In 1852 at the sale of the effects of the deposed French King, Louis-Philippe, the Hunts of Maxi- milian, in ten pieces 4.25 metres high, with a com- bined width of 43.60 metres (the metre being a little over a yard), sold for 6,200 francs, which is about $7 a square yard and $124 apiece. (Divide francs by 5 to get dollars.) The Months of Lucas, in ten pieces 3.50 metres by 43.50 metres, brought $8 a yard and $120 apiece. The Conquests of Louis XIV, five Gobelins 4.62 metres by 25.65, a little over $3 a yard and $78 apiece. The Attributes of Music, a Gobelin of the period of Louis XIV 7 , 3 metres by 2.70, which to-day at the Gobelins would keep a weaver employed for eight years, sold for $80. Also at the Louis-Philippe sale, six Flemish tapes- tries of the end of the XVI century, representing a coronation, 4 metres by 26.25, were picked up by some lucky purchaser for $65 apiece. Six Flemish verdure hunting scenes, also of the XVI century, 3 metres by 22.95, f° r $ 2 7 apiece. The situation improved little during the next fifteen years. In 1867 the South Kensington Mu- seum paid only $50 for a Gothic tapestry 1 foot 2 by 8 feet 9^. In 1859 only $125 for a Gothic tapestry 11 feet 6 by 13 feet, picturing scenes from the story of Esther. In 1866 only $47 for another Gothic Esther tapestry 10 feet by 12 feet 9. But by 1872 there had been a marked improve- S 2 20 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN ment in tapestry values. In that year the same museum paid $950 for Susannah and the Elders, a splendid Gothic tapestry 13 feet by 10 feet 10. In 1883 $5,000 for the Triumph of Fame, a Gothic tapestry 10 feet by 26. At the De Somzee sale in Brussels in 1901, Roland at Roncevaux, a wool and silk Gothic tapestry, 3.78 metres by 5.45, sold to the Brussels Museum for 19,000 francs. The Passion of Christ, in three scenes, a Gothic tapestry in wool and silk, 4.20 metres by 8.90, to the Brussels Museum for 70,000 francs. The Triumph of Christ, a Gothic tapestry in wool and silk, 3.75 metres by 4.55, to the Brussels Museum for 28,000 francs. The Triumph of the Virgin Mary, a late Gothic tapestry in wool and silk, 4 metres by 6.03, sold for 24,000 francs. Bathsheba at the Fountain, a late Gothic tapestry in wool and silk, 3.60 metres by 6.50, to Wauters for 75,000 francs. The Triumph of Gluttony, a late Gothic tapestry in wool, silk, and gold and silver, 3.90 metres by 6.90, to Duyardin for 7,500 francs. Alex- ander Setting Fire to the Palace of Persepolis, 4.15 metres by 5, a tapestry woven at Delft in the year 1619, for 4,300 francs. The De Somzee sale totalled 88 tapestries at $160,000. The same tapestries to-day are worth much more, despite financial conditions unfavour- able during the past ten years to rapid increase of price, and within the next twenty years will be worth twenty times as much. At the Marquand sale in New York in 1903, the HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 21 Madonna with Attendants, a Renaissance tapestry 8 feet 2 by 7 feet, sold for $21,000. An Italian XVIII century tapestry signed by Nouzou — one of the set woven in Rome from 1735 to 1739 by Nouzou and Ferloni, of which the Coles collection of the Metropolitan Museum contains several, all of which illustrate scenes from Tasso's "Jerusalem Delivered," and came from the Hamilton Palace sale held in London in 1882 — brought $15,000, which is all it is likely ever to be worth. The purchasers both in London and New York were evidently at- tracted by the ducal name. It is significant that both in London and New York, this tapestry was catalogued as a Gobelin. The New York price was about four times the London one. Also at the Marquand sale three Renaissance tapestries brought respectively $4,600, $4,500, and $2,900. The sizes were 9 feet 2 by 10 feet 6, 9 feet 2 by 10 feet 4, 9 feet 2 by 6 feet 11. The first pictured the Queen of Sheba before Solomon, the last two the Triumph of David after killing Goliath. At the White sale in New York in 1907, four fine Renaissance Grotesques (often incorrectly called Arabesques) sold for $5,100, $3,600, $3,200, and $2,300, respectively. The sizes were 11 feet 8 by 17 feet 2, 11 feet 8 by 8, 11 feet 8 by 8 feet 6, 11 feet 5 by 7. Commerce, a Brussels XVIII century tapestry 15 feet 3 by 19, signed by D. Leyniers, similar in weave and quite equal to most Gobelin and Beauvais tapestries of the same period, was pur- chased by Robert Goelet for $10,500. 22 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN At the Polovtsoff sale in Paris in 1909, the Story of Tobias, six Flemish tapestries 3.35 metres high with combined width of 21.40 metres, sold for 24,700 francs. The Temple of Venus, three Beauvais tapestries 4.20 metres by 5, 4.15 metres by 4.41, 4.12 metres by 3.28, woven in 1726 under the direc- tion of De Merou after cartoons by Duplessis, brought 299,100 francs. The Seasons, four Gobelin tapestries, 3.05 metres high with combined width of 7.95, signed by Cozette, 1 78 1, brought 376,000 francs. The crowning price of the sale was 910,000 francs paid for the Loves of the Gods, four Beauvais XVIII century tapestries woven under the direction of Besnier, Oudry, and Charron after cartoons by Boucher: Ariadne and Bacchus 3.55 metres by 8.20, Mars and Venus 3.55 metres by 3.55, Boreas and Orythia 3.55 metres by 3.60, Vulcan and Venus 3.55 metres by 6.75. At the Yerkes sale in New York in 1910, Neptune and Amymone, a Gobelin XVIII century tapestry 10 feet 4 by 9 feet 1, brought $4,000. Vulcan and Venus, a Gobelin XVIII century tapestry 10 feet 3 by 8 feet 3, signed by Audran, $17,700. The Rape of Europa, a Gobelin XVIII century tapestry 10 feet 6 by 8 feet 3, $12,300. Pluto and Proserpine, a Gobelin XVIII century tapestry 10 feet 6 by 8 feet 7, $5,200. A Brussels XVII century tapestry 13 feet 10 by 15 feet 6, enriched with gold, signed with the Brussels mark and the weaver's monogram, M, $6,600. Six Brussels XVII century tapestries from designs in the style of Teniers, one of them CUPID AND PSYCHE PLATE no. 23. The Bath of Cupid and Psyche, a Louis XIV Gobelin in the set of eight entitled Sujets de la Fable, ifter the XVI century designs of Guilio Romano (See chapter VI). It is signed LEFEBVRE (Lefevre) and is in the French National Collection. The dominant color in both border and panel is rose against which the flesh tones stand jut with wonderful clearness and delicacy. Note the double L monogram of Louis XIV in the cartouche of the bot- :om border. 24 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN signed P. V. D. BORCHT, the smallest 9 feet 8 by 2 feet 7, $850; the largest 9 feet 10 by 12 feet 10, $4,300. The Gobelins undoubtedly sold for more because they had formerly been in the collection of the Princess de Sagan. Among other interesting prices at recent public sales were the Acts of the Apostles after the Raphael cartoons, seven Brussels XVIII century tapestries signed D. LEYNIERS, at Christie's in London in i9iofor £1,785. (Multiply pounds by 5 to get dol- lars.) At the same place in 191 1, ten panels of old Brussels tapestry for £9,502 10s, about $4,700 a panel ; also, the Story of Diana, six Brussels tapestries for £1,207 10s. At the Hotel Drouot in Paris in 191 1. two Flemish verdure tapestries for 25,000 francs; Chinese Dining and Chinese Dancing, a Beauvais tapestry containing two scenes from the series depicting Chinese life, woven for the first time in 1743 under the direction of Besnier and Oudry after sketches by Boucher, sold for 142,000 francs. A Flemish XVI century tapestry picturing a tourna- ment in a park, 15,500 francs; an XVIII century tapestry showing a lady and a gentleman walking in the country, 24,100 francs; Proserpine, an XVIII century Spanish tapestry signed by L. VAN DER GOTTEN of Madrid, 21,200 francs. During the XIX century it did not pay to weave reproductions of antique tapestries. It was cheaper to buy the antiques themselves. Now all that is changed, and we may expect a period of great prosperity for tapestry looms in the oil & o * 5 E« b W ■« o 2 £ O « c a 2 > « a 2 s 5 S 2 S "o m — ^ "Sis ill 2 M » W 0) « £ £ >, u C3 2 S 5 ii S « -2 3 O 0) _ o M a >! O r 2 &! I ** CS to S M ■S .2 O « 3 JO B •- u u » 5 S^Q E b O t3 o 5 W •- 3 a 26 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN United States as well as in France and Italy and England and Germany, especially if the museums and the private collectors who own the masterpieces are generous in allowing them to be copied, and do everything in their power to supplement the Renais- sance of tapestry values, by a Renaissance of tapestry weaving according to the methods of the XV and XVI centuries. Many persons look at tapestries as if they were photographs or photographic paintings, obliged to conform to the limitations imposed by mechanical perspective and shadow. Thus they miss the real virtue of tapestry. For here be it laid down, once for all, that the qualities which determine excellence in tapestry, which distinguish a good tapestry from a bad tapestry, are not those in which it resembles painting, but those in which it is unlike painting. The texture of tapestries is what gives them their peculiar excellence, and distinguishes them above all other textiles, just as other textiles are distinguished by texture qualities that raise them above wood and stone and brick and plaster and porcelain and paint and the metals. In which connection it is interesting to note that the word, as well as the quality, is primarily associated with textiles, texture being Latin for weave. Not that I would deny picture interest to tapes- tries. Indeed, they possess it to a marked degree. This quality they do share with photographs and paintings. But they also share with Oriental rugs the texture 28 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN interest that has exalted the fame of Oriental looms during the past twenty years, making them the subject of books and magazine articles galore. And Gothic and Renaissance tapestries, with their coarse, horizontal ribs and long and slender vertical hatch- ings, possess texture interest to an even greater degree than rugs. In other words, tapestry has a more interesting texture than any other material in the world, and one capable of expressing more in the hands of the weaver who understands. THE GOLDEN AGE OF TAPESTRY The Golden Age of Tapestry was the Gothic- Renaissance Transition. Then the weaver was all- powerful. Sketches and cartoons he interpreted freely into tapestry technique, using them rather as sug- gestion than as orders. With wool alone, or with wool and gold and silver, and little or no silk, he secured effects impossible with paint. With the full Renaissance of the XVI century came Raphael, whose cartoons, illustrating the Acts of the Apostles for Pope Leo X, did irreparable harm to the art of telling stories decoratively in tapestry. After him, and as the result of his influence, weavers were urged to copy paintings slavishly and imitate paint technique. The best tapestries woven in the XVII century, at Mortlake and the Gobelins, as well as at Brussels, were from XVI century cartoons, but with woven QUEEN OF SHEBA PLATE no. 20. King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, an exquisitely beautiful Flemish Gothic tapestry at the Poldi zzoli Museum in Milan. It illustrates the effectiveness of tapestry texture as a medium for the expression of richly pat- ned textiles and robes. 30 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN frames in deep shadow simulating high relief, that replaced the rich decorative borders of the Renais- sance. In the XVIII century the victory of painters over weavers became complete, and at the Gobelins to Neilson, with his much-improved low-warp loom, was awarded the palm over the high-warp weavers, Audran and Cozette, because his tapestries were more exact copies of the cartoons. At the same time was introduced the type of tapestry illustrated by Charles Coypel's Don Quixote series, with tiny picture inside a large damasse mat and double gilt frame, all woven. Most XVIII century tapestries are comparatively small and adapted for use in modern rooms and apartments. This has made them popular, and they often sell for prices that are as much too high as the prices of XV and XVI century tapestries are too low. Tapestries in bad condition that have been repaired too much or too little, are also apt to sell for more than they are worth, especially at public sales. The same is true of antique tapestries of inferior weave and design, and also of the imitation jacquard picture tapestries. Apparently to some persons all tapestries look alike. I hope this volume will help them to realize that weave merit — not age or the name of the de- signer — distinguishes good tapestries from bad tapes- tries, and the masterpieces from the throng. It is weave merit that establishes extraordinary value for the Seven Sacraments belonging to the Metropoli- PLATE no. 31. A Gobelin tapestry designed by F. EHRMANN, whose signature appears in the lower right corner of the id, and presented by France to Miss Alice Roosevelt on the occasion of her marrriage to Mr. Nicholas Longworth. The tapestry [5 feet 4 by 8 feet 6, and now hangs in the entrance hall of the Cincinnati Museum, to which it has been lent by Mrs. ngworth, by whose permission it is reproduced on this 'page. The subject is " The Manuscript " and as the inscription >w the portraits in the side borders are those of Fra Angelico and Jean Fouquet. The Gobelin mark — a G pierced with a broche ippears in the tiny cartouche in the base of each of the side borders, the R F of the Re'publique Francaise in the cartouche the top border. 32 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN tan Museum; for Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan's Mazarin tapestry, entitled the Triumph of Christ, and rich with wool and gold and silver and silk; for Mr. George Blumenthal's two Herse tapestries, also rich with gold and silver, and also on exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum. vj > « « O g '5 $ G 5 ~ * s S c ^ .S " >> s rS 2 .£ -c _ fft 3 C -C ."3 p_ T3 ^ 2 -r: * eS ^ ^3 « co +a co j5 i3 "^ S> S « W +e -g a, § m h n ti +> £3 +J 3 s u a a s J o a! ! O & K iu „, ( ) o3 *o * rf a a g>i"8 g^s b£3.coe3>>,GnCO 2 3 ^ a> Z O .2 -^ -3 3* t-s 3 « !, o M fi 4) a «« -g -a c3 -o ^i, 33 3 _3 M « J3 ^ >> cs "3 4) S-£gS-2p fl •- X -£ >> C- ^ <» g k_ co ?*> D •-< O ^> 3 O -3 ^_> 4) • — sgH-g-^coco-g * ffl * ^ * J g| § c |> 5 J •" 3 S. Q. • -" P» 'G 3 ^« += 2 co -^ "^ ^ S 9 |£| S a„3 £ i^fUMttunJW in.Mmn'UJd'iniJWMUHflOlf CHAPTER II Gothic Tapestries The Golden Age of Tapestries was the Gothic- Renaissance Transition — the last half of the XV century and the first half of the XVI century — the hundred years during which Renaissance tapestries began and Gothic tapestries ceased to be woven, while many of the greatest tapestries were of mixed style, like the Story of the Virgin at Reims. Undoubtedly many splendid tapestries were woven in the XIV century. Already the French-Flemish city of Arras had acquired such fame for the manu- facture of them as to give its name to the product, a name that still survives in England and Italy, where tapestries are called arras and arazzi respect- ively. But of the splendid XIV century tapestries only one large set has survived, and that in a muti- lated condition, after having been subjected to brutal treatment at the hands of XVIII and XIX century vandals. I refer to the famous set of seven immense tapestries at the Cathedral of Angers, picturing the Apocalypse. There are to be sure the fragments attributed to the XII century, formerly belonging to the church of Saint Gereon in Cologne, but now shared by the museums of Lyons, Nuremberg, and South Kensing- ton (See plate no. 35). Large circular medallions 33 34 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN on a brownish-blue ground represent, in tones of light ivory, a winged griffin with eagle above and bull below. The design is clearly of Byzantine origin, but the crudeness of the weave indicates an Occidental maker. Then there are the three quaint XII or XIII century tapestries preserved in the Cathedral of Halberstadt and perhaps of local manufacture. Two of these tapestries are 3 feet 7 inches high and about 30 feet long — narrow bands intended to hang above the choir stalls. The first pictures Christ and the Apostles. The identity of each of the apostles and of the angels Michael and Gabriel on either side of Christ is made certain by woven captions. The second pictures the Story of Abraham and Isaac. The third differs completely from the first two in subject, composition, and shape. It is nearly square, a little higher than wide, with several inches missing from the top. In the centre is pictured Charlemagne on his throne, crowned, sceptre in hand, a rich cushion beneath his feet. In the corners of the panel the four philosophers — Socrates and Plato in the upper corners, with heads and captions missing but part of the inscription remaining; in the lower corners Cato and Seneca, with names woven above them, bearing a long scroll inscribed in Latin. Cato says: Denigrat meritum dantis mora (Delay in giving spoils the merit of the service). Seneca replies: Qui cito dat bis dat (He who gives quickly, gives twice). The general effect of all three tapestries is SAINT GEREON FRAGMENT PLATE no. 35. Saint Gereon Fragment in the Lyons Museum (See chapter II). One of several fragments of patterned tapestry attributed to the XII century, formerly in the church of Saint Gereon in Cologne, and now shared by the museums of Lyons, Nuremberg, and South Kensington. Large circular medallions on a brownish-blue ground represent in tones of light ivory, a winged griffin with eagle above and bull be- low. The design is clearly of Byzantine origin, but the crudeness of the weave indicates an Occidental maker. 36 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN like that of stained glass of the period, the outlines being accentuated in brown much as the stained- glass outlines are accentuated by the leads. That the famous Bayeux tapestry picturing the invasion of England by the Normans is not a tapestry at all but an embroidery is now a matter of common knowledge. Other fabrics long cited, but wrongly, as early examples of tapestry-weaving are the five hangings said to have been executed by Agnes II, Abbess of Quedlimburg (i 184-1203), and her nuns. These are not tapestries, but have a pile surface made by knotting, after the fashion of Oriental rugs. They picture the Marriage of Mercury and of Philology, with Latin inscriptions. There is no trace of Oriental influence in the designs. Still another fabric long wrongly cited as an early tapestry is the embroidery in the Cathedral of Gerona, in Spain, 12 feet high by 13^ wide, picturing the Creation. In the Brussels Museum there is a small tapestry, 5 feet by 9K (See plate no. 37), of the second half of the XIV century that resembles the Apocalypse set closely in both design and technique. Warp as well as weft are entirely of wool. The subject is the Presentation of the Infant Jesus at the Temple. It was discovered by a Spanish painter, Senor Leo y Escosura, whose studio it long adorned. It attracted much attention at the Union Centrale Tapestry Exposition in Paris in 1876, and at the Exposition des Primitifs Francais in 1904. The famous Apocalypse of the Cathedral of Angers, mentioned above, is one of the most remark- 38 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN able sets of tapestry ever woven. Originally there were 7 pieces showing 90 separate and distinct scenes, 18 feet high with a combined width of 472 feet — in other words, 8,496 square feet or 944 square yards of intricately woven picture tapestry. Some of the 90 scenes contain more than 25 personages. To-day the height is only 14 feet, and the total width 328 feet. The floriated bands at top and bottom, and the inscriptions beneath the scenes, have worn away during the course of 500 years. Of the 90 scenes, 70 remain intact, and there are fragments of 8 others, while 12 have entirely disappeared (See plate no. 39). About the origin of these tapestries we fortunately have the most complete information. The Duke of Anjou, brother of Charles V, who was King of France from 1364 to 1380, had them made to hang in the chapel of his chateau at Angers. The cartoonist was Hennequin de Bruges, also called Jean de Bruges, Charles the V's court painter, whom the Duke of Anjou borrowed for the pupose, together with an illustrated manuscript of the Apocalypse, which is now in the Public Library of the City of Cambrai. The painter received instructions to follow the manuscript illustrations closely, and did so, executing the cartoons on large pieces of canvas. The earlier tapestries of the set were woven in Paris in the factory of Nicolas Bataille, who received, as the Treasury books of the Duke show, 3,000 francs for three of the tapestries, which is at the rate of 1 ,000 francs apiece, or about a franc a square foot. The B'i o 4> v a 4) ? Sal o •S Of *_, • V V to "3 2 « 1 ■* ST N a 5 w M a I g * 88 fr 2 i & 1 i ° 1 2 S 8 O « > 2 <* a ui ■Bfl •» 4, 3j g v. a .S3 m 2 o i_ a -c " P- J- U w ». a a * 2 H .5 J3 "u Ed M ** a H '§ "S a t; a 5 <- 40 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN value of the franc then was about $10. Consequent- ly the total cost of the tapestries was about $60,000. When tapestries went out of fashion at the end of the XVIII century, the Canons of the Cathedral of Angers decided to sell the Apocalypse tapestries which had been presented to the Cathedral in 1480 by King Rene. But no purchaser could be found. So against their will they were obliged to retain their greatest treasure. Not believing that anything Gothic could be beautiful, they decided to make the Apocalypse tapestries useful. They employed them in the greenhouse to protect orange-trees from the cold. They spread them over parquet floors while the ceilings were being painted. They cut them up into rugs and used them as carpet lining. They even nailed them in strips on the stalls of the bishop's stable, to prevent the horses from bruising themselves. Finally, in 1843, a sale was effected. These priceless examples of the art of the XIV century brought 300 francs — $60. Fortunately the purchaser was wiser than the administration, and restored them to the Cathedral, of which they are once again the chief glory. There is a full set of photo- graphs of the set in the Avery Library at Columbia University, and also in the Library of the Metropoli- tan Museum. Five of the seven tapestries had originally 15 scenes each, of which the first was a personage seated in a Gothic pavilion reading from a book or manu- script containing obviously the Gospel of Revelation HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 41 (Apocalypse). The other 14 scenes were placed in pairs one above the other and illustrated subjects from the Apocalypse. The second and the third tapestries together had only 15 scenes but similarly arranged. Behind the back and above the head of the per- sonage in scene 1 of tapestry I, a rich fabric figured with fleurs-de-lis and quatre-foils inside diamonds. Fluttering in the air butterflies whose wings bear the arms of Anjou and of Brittany. On the roof of the pavilion two angels carrying banners, showing, one the arms of Anjou, the other the cross of Lorraine. Scene 2 pictures Saint John listening to the Voice, and taking up the book in which he is to write his vision, to be sent to the Seven Churches that are pictured in front of him, guarded by seven angels. Scene no. 3 pictures Christ seated on a Throne, surrounded by seven candles, holding a sword in His mouth, and with seven red stars in His right hand. Saint John is prostrate at His feet. Scene no. 4 pictures Saint John at the threshold of an open door watching Christ, around whom a rainbow forms a halo. Seven lamps hang at the height of His face. The four animals symbolic of the evangelists accom- pany him disposed in the traditional medieval order — man, eagle, lion, calf. The 24 Sages are lined up on either side, on the left the prophets, on the right the apostles, whose lilies in blossom symbolise the kingdom of the world, the perfume of the virtues, and the integrity of the faith. By the beginning of the XV century the art of 42 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN weaving picture hangings had reached a high point of perfection. Kings and great nobles vied with one another in the ownership of magnificent sets rich with gold, and when they wished to make presents, could find none more splendid to give or welcome to receive than Arras tapestries. When the French King Charles V died in 1380, he left behind him sets of the Passion of Our Lord, the Life of Saint Denis, the Life of Saint Theseus. His brother the Duke of Anjou in addition to the Apocalypse had an Annunciation of Our Lady with the Three Kings, a Life of Saint Catherine, a Saint George, and a Saint George Fighting with the Saracens. His brother the Duke of Burgundy, in J 395> bought of Jacques Dourdin, as a present for the King of England, a Crucifixion, a Calvary, a Death of the Virgin. In 1398 he sent the Miracles of Saint Antoine to the King of Aragon. On his death, in 1404, the inventory of his estate shows a Coronation of the Virgin, enriched with gold; a Life of Saint Margaret, a Life of Saint George, the Story of Saint Denis, all enriched with Cyprus gold. The King's other brother, the Duke of Berri, was especially an amateur of tapestries. The inventory of his estate, in 1416, shows a "tapis de l'ouvrage d'Arras, historie a images d'or et de soye, du Tres- passement de notre Dame," estimated at 172 livres; an Apocalypse set without gold, the Short Credo and the Long Credo with gold, a Coronation of the Virgin enriched with gold and silver, the Trinity also with gold and silver, a Magdalen. According HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 43 to the inventory all of these were woven at Arras. Referring to the inventory of the French Royal tap- estries captured and sold by the English from 1422 to 1435, M. Guiffrey calls attention to the fact that the pieces attributed to Arras contain the precious metals, while those attributed to Paris seem to be more ordinary work in cheaper materials. Of tapestries woven at Arras, however, there re- mains only one set that can be positively identified, the Story of Saint Piat and Saint Eleuthere at the Cathedral of Tournai in Belgium. But as if to make up for our lack of information about other ancient tapestries that may have been woven at Arras, we not only know that the Saint Piat and Saint Eleuthere tapestries were woven there, but we also know the exact month and year of their completion, the name of the maker, and the name of the donor. For one of the pieces now lost bore the following inscription which was fortunately copied and preserved by XVIII century writers: Ces draps furent faicts et acheves En Arras par Pierrot Fere Van mil quatre cent et deux En Decembre mois gracieux and a little lower down: Veuillez a Dieu tons saincts prier Pour Vame de Toussaint Prier. which translated read: These cloths were made and completed In Arras by Pierrot Fere The year one thousand four hundred two 44 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN In December gracious month Will all the saints kindly pray to God For the soul of Toussaint Prier? This Toussaint Prier who gave the tapestries to the Cathedral of Tournai was a canon there in 1402, but later became chaplain to Philip the Good and died October 15, 1437. While the colours are much faded and greyed, they still preserve a certain freshness, and these tapestries are, as documents in tapestry history, second in importance to the Angers Apocalypse only. The material is wool without gold or silk. The borders are later additions. Originally there were eighteen scenes picturing the Lives and Miracles of Saint Piat and Saint Eleuthere, all with French inscrip- tions above. Of the eighteen, only fifteen survive, in four pieces, 6 feet 10 inches high with a combined width of 71 feet 8 inches. The subjects of the three missing pieces were: the Beheading of Saint Piat, the People of Tournai accompanying the body of Saint Piat to Seclin, the Miracle at Seclin when the Body of Saint Piat arrived there (See page 182 of Pinchart Flemish, who gives a photographic illustration of one of the surviving pieces). The subjects of the six Saint Piat scenes that survive are: Mission of Saint Piat and his Eleven Companions, His arrival at Tournai during a Sacrifice of Lambs to an Idol, His Preaching before the parents and grandparents of Saint Eleuthere, Destruction of Idols in con- sequence of his Preaching, Laying the Corner-stone HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 45 of the Cathedral of Tournai, Baptism of the parents and grandparents of Saint Eleuthere. The subjects of the nine scenes picturing the Life of Saint Eleuthere are: Saint Eleuthere Baptises Pagans, His depart- ure for Rome, Reception by the Pope, He is Crowned Bishop, Death of Blande the Tribune's daughter who fell in love with Him, He restores Her to Life in the presence of Her Father and Soldiers, He Baptises Her, Ravages of the Plague among the Pagans, Blande's Father wishes to recover her from the Christians. The most important Early XV century tapestry in the United States, and one that deserves to be mentioned side by side with the treasures of Angers and of Tournai, is the Burgundian Sacraments presented to the Metropolitan Museum of New York by Mr. Morgan and described in chapter XVI. Of the original fourteen scenes, only seven remain, in five fragments, with inscriptions misplaced. An unusual feature of the tapestry is the brick wall border with floriation outside (See plates nos. 46, 47). The tapestry was originally about 17 feet high by 38 feet wide. A large size this when compared with XVIII century Gobelin Don Quixote panels, but not when compared with the Apocalypse, or with the now lost Battle of Rosebecke that was recorded in an inventory of the Emperor Charles Y in 1536 as "very old and full of holes." This Battle was ordered by Philip the Bold Duke of Burgundy, of Michel Bernard, and was delivered by the latter in 1387, five years after this famous victory of the ft* mm e ■■iwraturf - -^ m™ w&Kur iiwatuwraamr • crarfffivw fw At ou Cat Umm $mj$ - ,. .««ftnwriira ft ttm&rt' - ct k rfo icssMMk w'5f' v$tim mj - n J ? O S tf 3 S °- ST * s «; § S « w <« Q to H -3 h 22 & a fa « u w 's; *. W <3 ji U u >S W S3 • d - & « » iJ 8 ■o > a ui a o C «» I) i o fl g * ° 'C " o « d — Oh aw ^ * K k ! a O £ rt £ a - w 3 — 2 a 2 >J • o js . a ptj ~ e< r^StLjmJt&jU&J^ 72 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN the choir of the church until the Revolution. In 1888 the eleven pieces in twenty-one scenes that still remained in the Chateau du Plessis-Mace near the Abbey, were scattered at public sale, one piece now being in the Boston Fine Arts Museum (See plate no. 73), two in the Museum of the Gobelins, one in the Louvre, others in a chateau of Anjou, and one in the Manor of Langeais. The subjects of all the scenes are connected with the Holy Eucharist as announced by the first legend: Cy commence Vystoire et la figure De jhesus Christ et son sainct sacrement Depuis abel et la loy de nature Jusques a son cruel crucifiement In English: Here begins the story and the picture Of Jesus Christ and his Holy Sacrament From Abel and the law of nature Until His cruel Crucifixion. The different scenes of this set are framed in square Gothic columns with flat slightly rounded arches above, and a four-line French caption in Gothic letters below. The long frieze, 4 feet 11 by 97 feet 6, in the Cathedral of Le Mans, picturing from the Story of Saint Gervais and Saint Protais the same scenes as the tapestry at the Cathedral of Soissons, was woven, as an inscription on the last panel shows, for Martin Guerande, a native of Anjou and canon of Le Mans, and given by him to decorate the choir (See plate no. 75). SB" ja to H -C S 1 a <3 2 a 1 Bob I J! o tJ o - a i! a a o „ i- in P -3 O -o -3 j 0) pg •> „; ft 'u £ 2 . !•§.§ a 3 * t» • S 5 '0 & flop" nil ^ a -3 t* 'wi a) 3 o j; 2 ft Bill ►J o V g ft ° & s 74 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Especially interesting to my English readers is the splendidly preserved Life of Christ, in 14 pieces and 27 scenes, at the Cathedral of Aix-en-Province, because in it are woven the coats of arms of three archbishops of Canterbury — on the piece containing scenes nos. 23, 24 the arms of Cardinal Morton, who died in 1500; on 1, 2 of Henri Dene, archbishop of Canterbury from 1500 to 1503; on 25, 26 of William Wareham who succeeded Dene. Local Aix tradition has it that the tapestries were originally ordered for an English church. The presence of these coats of arms, and also of those of Henry VIII on 11, 12, would seem to support tradition, and make it certain that the English church in question was Canterbury Cathedral. The tapestries are said to have remained in England for a century and a half, until the time of the Commonwealth, when they were sent to Paris and offered for sale. There we know that on April 4, 1656, Canon de Mimata bought them for 1,200 ecus and presented them to the Cathedral of Aix. When put on sale after the Revolution, in 1789, they were purchased by Mon- seigneur de Cice, Archbishop of Aix, and restored to the Cathedral. The scenes are framed in square Gothic columns, with verdure borders above and below, Gothic verdure in the foreground and Gothic castles in the distance. Of the scenes, nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 24, 25, 26, 27 are reproduced in colour but unsatisfactorily in Jubinal Tapisserics, and nos. 3, 4 photographically in brown opposite page 116 of Guiffrey Seizieme. Worthy of note but puzzling .a e ■» .g « g .£ 'S » a,5 ^ o S >. " t- * 7, « <5» • >> 3. " w « S fl) ■" (J 1H 6c 9 « > O y o) "O : a •O 4) o g H a -g a .; O .!: a S 5« » 4) a > P. J3 5 . i5H-S^ 4) ithic res. o th her, „, a £ a 4) M m Lat f 20 ape: and * ° » * <:» j3 .2 a> a s jj jj 4> & i: 53 ,f a 4> £ . -a as *;> * -5 a o -2 °> t5 £ a a ° *S O eS m 2 « ■§ c o a -c i 2 S J j« 3 rvais high and rom 4) M » B m ^ •o 8 S » c «s « S 1 *j *"• m 4> -° .!2 W 4> » g *T H "S • d fl ■"• S "2 "Z a ft 22 *g 9 *© S ft 3 OJ .- 76 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN is the coat of arms that occurs three times on the tapestries: on nos. 3, 4; 7, 8; 19, 20. M. Guiffrey speaks of it as the arms of the house of Oktanton (sic), extinct in the middle of the XVI century, and gives the inscription on it as Soli deo honor et gloria. On 9, 10 is a shield, that "appears to belong to a member of the Portland family," with the device Craignes honte. 3 f* c a) u 43 O s-, 03 — _ _ «H 43 o3 >i a> O 23 "O » 3 ■£ 6£ s3 «3 33 T3 a c s § s< s> & d«n-. c a -Q 43 43 -d 8 .2 w 1— 1 >. CI S 03 s3 ^ a a 43 d S3 O 43 d 2 "^ '03 ^Q 03 03 ^-d 03 p M ^ O rf3 -2 .3 a "^ 00 73 S-i •-I S3 03 03 +3 03 «< d: 60 "^ d s3 03 * J -d 60 - — ■ d 03 'JZ 03 d ^ rti O . a 2, ^ 3 O § I IS 43 £ f Si ■3. 03 2 t« a o3 .a *» 73 -0 CI V '3, -f^> C3 03 S3 d P % c 60 fc< S3 60 £ d 5 1 -d „ 60 S3 -Q 8 >< a, -fe -d 03 "^ 03 '_ - 60 43 43 'S 43 -cj a _5l 03 go S | o .a -g .a « d ^ ^ -2 -d ^ <& a; c — •d c 60 ?* "^ -d *- -d o Si si ■2 & -d 3 d S3 +3 S3 I O S 60 bC 2 -o s3 • d O 03 J; t. S3 V £ 2 W PQ < u *d £ -^ -a - S3 C 03 > S3 43 S3 A — ^ 43 T3 A d H S3 75 -d o -73 .2 P .-5 .S S -d .2 - 43 <<-i S3 O a 03 8.1 60 S §^ O «« 43 • ?s, d 'bo .2 43 rj-5 03 ^ ■J GO J3 "2 Ji 1 4) 43 S 03 O ^ -d -a * '£ -d ^ ■3 3 C s3 X "a u a ° 5 "^ 03 60.2 c >- • S3 -u — 03 +3 a "5. 'fl S g C 43 43 d S-i • — a B 03 9S 03 2 d 7; °" ? c „ A 03 d ■§ ^ S3 - . CO 03 C O s3 i § *" 03 o '3 S3 fl +0 S3 "d > -t- 5 .1-. ^ 60 > 3 « 3 DO on 43 Q, 93 43 03 03 CO +3 *^ 43 M_, 03 O ^ .- d s3 4> c; >>^ ^ « a6 -^ 43 .2 a -d d .3 -*> s3 "2 ° □ 03 r IE l| 8 co en aj """ -d >> t-. -5 03 S3 S3 _ _, 43 2 d 60 Dh H 03 d d 5 60 c « d a S3 2 . 43 d -^ o3 a, > > a 1 -0 _o -d d , * a _43 !-*• "" & 43 43 E C3 oj =5 -£ 03 =3 O SI 01 r; Q3 5 7i^ iLikfiLnninntflWii CHAPTER III Renaissance Tapestries The most famous tapestries in the world are the Acts of the Apostles set at the Vatican. The most famous tapestry cartoons in the world are the Acts of the Apostles set in the Victoria and Albert Museum at South Kensington. How the cartoons came to be painted by Raphael and the Vatican tapestries woven from them will form an important part of this chapter on Renaissance Tapestries. But just as I devoted the last part of my Gothic chapter, so I wish to devote the first part of my Renaissance chapter to the Gothic-Renaissance Transition. Probably no better example can be found than the set telling the Story of Notre Dame du Sablon, first revealed to the modern world of tapestry-lovers by the publication of the catalogue of the Spitzer Collection 1890. Of this set of four — two of which had been subdivided into three pieces each — the most interesting is the fourth, 11 feet 8 by 7 feet 10, now in the Brussels Museum, illustrated in colour in the Spitzer cata- logue, and in half-tone on plate no. 79. Each of the original tapestries consisted of three scenes in triptych arrangement, the outer scenes each illustrat- ing two Latin couplets (one above and one below), the middle scenes one Latin couplet (below), in Gothic letters, of the old poem that told the story. 78 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN The correct order of the scenes is made certain by the letters marking each couplet — Q R S T V. The donor and date of the set are made certain by the inscription in the right-hand border: Egregius franciscus de taxis pie me(m)orie postaruim) mgr (magister) hoc fieri fecit an{n)o 151 8 (The worthy Francis de Taxis of pious memory, master of the posts, had this made in the year 1518). In a large proportion of Gothic- Renaissance tapestries, the Gothic influence predominates even when the architecture is purely Renaissance. In the tapestry before us the Renaissance influence predominates, especially in the borders and in the columns. The panels are full of Gothic architecture, and the robes and gowns are woven in the good old Gothic fashion, but the sky-line has been lowered to meet Renaissance requirements, and the per- spective is definitely Renaissance. The scrolls, with their ancient lettering and the inscription in the right border, are Gothic, but the mottoes above and below the shields in the side borders are Renaissance. The combination is just what we should expect from an Early Renaissance portrayal of a XIV century story. In 1348, so the story goes, Beatrix Stoetkens, a poor woman of Antwerp, dreamed that the Virgin appeared to her and bade her ask the wardens of the church of Notre Dame for a long-neglected small statue of the Madonna. Beatrix got the statue and took it to a painter who enriched it with gold and precious colours. Then Beatrix restored it to the ir — ea (1 1) 3 o> CD E a U X fl o c o J2 a js cs > £ > .1 M — g m « J3 S c 01 O T3 - « „ C V t: 9 3 w> a s h « - 2 % ° i! -° a S O > ■ C H G 3 g - x .2 e MOO H i-i v- u « a « 43 .S3 c 5 5 ■3 a So^ «, .2 5 « — «) -2 a) d tj cfl j« £ «J « 6 o 2 g 1 £ -o <§ , -g — 03 ^ 05 5 - s £ s a « .3 .E *Bo •o o M o 2 -H •s:§ = j= d " a B -w |5|, §8 T - o oj CJ C D 4) © 2 g I 0J "55 v £ - '5 to a X S TJ "S 2 3 o c 0) £ eel * A > £ > fe H 80 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN church, where the Virgin clothed it with such grace that it inspired devotion in all who beheld it. Then the Virgin appeared again to Beatrix and bade her carry the statue to Brussels. When the warden tried to prevent Beatrix from taking it, he found himself unable to move. She went at once to the harbour, and with her precious burden embarked in an empty boat. The boat stemmed the current as if guided by the Virgin's own hand and brought Beatrix to Brussels. There she was received by all the dignitaries of the city, and the miraculous image carried in triumphal procession to the church of Notre Dame du Sablon. In picturing this ancient story the artist followed the Gothic fashion of modernising the costumes and by way of compliment to the ruling powers also modernised the actors in the sacred drama, substitut- ing the contemporary ruler of the Netherlands (the Emperor Charles V), and his brother Ferdinand, for the XIV century Duke of Brabant and his son. The personage that appears in all of the three scenes of the tapestry illustrated, with a staff and a letter, is Francis de Taxis the donor. In the middle of the left border appears his coat of arms. The coat of arms in the top border is that of Margaret of Austria, Maximilian's daughter and Charles V's guardian. The statue of the Madonna in the middle panel of the tapestry is carried by Charles V(crowned) and his younger brother Ferdinand. The kneeling personage in the left panel, to whom Beatrix offers the image of the Madonna, is probably Charles HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 81 V's father Philip the Handsome who died in 1506; the kneeling personage in the right panel is Margaret of Austria (See chapter IV), with Ferdinand and his sisters Eleanor, Elisabeth, Mary, and Catherine, behind her. The Latin caption reads: Q. The boat enters the harbour. The people rush from all sides and the clergy come to meet it. The duke and gobies gather at the wharfs. R. The magnanimous prince, rendering homage to the celestial presence, kneels and takes the holy object in his hands. 5. The dukes, father and son, raise the grateful stretcher, and the radiant Virgin is borne to the chosen place. /. She is placed in a sacred chapel as patron for the wretched, and great crowds address to her prayers that are not disdained. V. Honour then this Mary with worship devout, and she will grant you the rewards that you deserve. The occasion of the weaving of this set of tapes- tries was the founding of a chapel, in the Brussels church Notre Dame du Sablon, by Francis de Taxis, imperial postmaster-general, whose death in 151 7, before the completion of the tapestry, devolved upon his nephew and successor Jean-Baptiste de Taxis the pious duty of executing his last wishes. About Raphael's designs for Pope Leo X's Acts of the Apostles tapestries there is nothing transitional, nothing Flemish, nothing Gothic. Panels and bor- ders alike represent the full and free expression of the Italian Renaissance. It is evident at first glance that the painter of these cartoons knew little about tapestry texture. The problems set the weaver were not textile problems but paint problems, 82 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN as the result proves. The Raphael cartoons did more harm to the art of tapestry-weaving than all other influences combined. The greatness of the artist and of his achievements misled the world, and caused critics to applaud in tapestry what should never have been put in tapestry at all. The side borders of the Vatican set of the Acts of the Apostles are decorative works of art of the highest quality; but the bottom borders that imitate bas-relief, and the panels that imitate painting, are valuable rather as documents in the history of art than as master- pieces of tapestry. Nevertheless, by contemporaries and by posterity these tapestries were praised without end. They were admired by Francis I and Louis XIV, Henry VIII and Charles I, Charles V and Philip II. By engravers, by painters, and by weavers they were copied over and over again. The woven copies are to-day among the chief treasures of the Royal Spanish Collection, the Imperial Austrian Collection, the French Nation- al Collection, the Berlin Museum, Hampton Court, the Beauvais Cathedral, the Cathedral of Loretto, the Dresden Museum. Of the cartoons the Duke d'Aumale said that "they are, together with the Parthenon marbles, England's most beautiful art possessions," and "as examples of Raphael's work unexcelled except, perhaps, by the Chambers of the Vatican." The tapestries were first shown on December 26, 1 5 19, in the Sistine Chapel for which they were planned. The company assembled represented the THE MIRACULOUS DRAFT LATE no. 83. Raphael's Acts of the Apostles. The Miraculous Draft of Fish, at the Vatican. One of the set of ten woven by er Van Aelst for Pope Leo X. On account of the narrowness of the spaces they were to fill in the Sistine Chapel, only part le set had side borders. The bottom borders are woven imitations of bas relief picturing scenes in the life of Leo X before he ime Pope, and in the life of Saint Paul. The lower part of the left side border of the tapestry illustrated was cut off when le was sacked in 1527, and was later replaced by the coat of arms of Constable Montmorency and by two Latin inscriptions, first memorializing the return of part of the set to Pope Julius III by this Constable in 1553, the second the repairing of the stries by Pope. Pius VII in 1814 at great expense. 84 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN learning and refinement of the world. There were red-robed cardinals and velvet-capped painters, gaily clad young noblemen and sombre gowned scholars, and foreign ambassadors in the picturesque attire of their various countries. All were enthusias- tic. They were unable to express the full extent of their admiration. " Everyone present," wrote one of the guests, "was speechless at the sight of these hangings, and it is the unanimous opinion that nothing more beautiful exists in the universe." Another guest wrote: "After the Christmas celebrations were over, the Pope exposed in his chapel seven tapestries (the eighth not being finished) executed in the West [in Flanders]. They were considered by everybody the most beautiful speci- mens of the weaver's art ever executed. And this in spite of the celebrity already attained by other tapestries — those in the antechamber of Pope Julius II, those made for the Marchese of Mantua after the cartoons of Mantegna, and those made for the King of Naples. They were designed by Raphael of Urbino, an excellent painter, who received from the Pope one hundred ducats for each cartoon. They contain much gold, silver, and silk, and the weaving cost 1,500 ducats apiece — a total of 16,000 ducats ($37,000) for the set — as the Pope himself says, though rumour would put the cost at 20,000 golden ducats." The tapestries were woven in Brussels under the supervision of the Flemish painter Barend Van Orley, friend and pupil of Raphael. Brussels was then the 86 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN world's principal centre of tapestry production, Arras, that gave its name to the English arras and the Italian arazzi, having been captured and ruined in 1477 by Louis XL The atelier selected was that of Pieter Van Aelst, tapestry-weaver to Philip the Handsome, and to Philip's son, the future Emperor Charles V. Of Van Aelst's success in interpreting the cartoons Vasari wrote: "One is astonished at the sight of this series. The execution is marvellous. One can hardly imagine how it was possible, with simple threads, to produce such delicacy in the hair and beards and to express the suppleness of flesh. It is a work more Godlike than human; the waters, the animals, and the habitations are so perfectly repre- sented that they appear painted with the brush, not woven." An opinion that shows how little Vasari knew about tapestry, and about what constitutes excellence in tapestry (See chapter VIII). Orders for duplicate sets at once began to pour into Brussels. For three pieces that totalled 73 -'s aunes (about 38 square yards) Francis I, in 1534, paid the enormous price of 50 golden ecus per aune. Henry VIII acquired a set of nine pieces rich with gold that, at the time of the Charles I sale, was pur- chased by the Spanish Ambassador to England, Don Alonzo de Cardenas, who sold it to the Duke of Alba in 1662. In 1833, it was bought by a British Consul in Spain, who sold it to a London merchant. In 1844 it was bought for the Berlin Museum. Another set once owned by the Duke of Alba was HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 87 presented recently to the British nation by Baron d'Erlanger, and is now on exhibition at Hampton Court. The nine pieces composing it were woven in the early seventeenth century, in the workshop of the great Jan Raes of Brussels. Seven of them hang in the King's Gallery, which was built by Sir Christo- pher Wren for the display of the cartoons. The remaining two — the Stoning of Saint Stephen and the Conversion of Saul — hang in the dining-room. One of the sets of nine in the Imperial Austrian Collection has been the subject of much controversy. On October 8, 1539, according to the anonymous author of a pamphlet published in New York in 1901, entitled the Raphael Cartoons, Duke Fred- eric Gonzaga wrote to Nicolas Karcher as follows: Nicolas Karcher, master-weaver of Brussels, must come to our estates, because we desire him to weave tapestries for our court from the drawings which we will order to be given to him. We desire that he shall be provided with all the con- veniences necessary for his labour. For all the time that he shall remain in Mantua he shall have wine and all necessary, etc. To which Karcher replied: Your Highness: Your generosity is known to all the world. I am at your command, and will do all that is in my power to be useful to you, and to please you. I will be much honoured to serve you in my art. I dare to hope that you will give me all the means necessary for my work Your humble servitor, Nicolas Karcher, Master-weaver of Flemish tapestries. 88 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Furthermore we are told that Duke Hercules on his death in 1563 bequeathed to his nephew, Duke William, "the tapestries called the Acts of the Apostles, for the church of Saint Barbara." So that there would seem some reason for suppos- ing that Karcher wove this Acts of the Apostles set for the Duke, if we did not know that the different pieces of the set — which was removed from the church of Santa Barbara to the ducal castle in Mantua by the Empress Maria Theresa, and from there to Vienna in 1866 — bear the Brussels mark and the monograms of Brussels weavers, as well as the arms of Duke Hercules. A second set of nine pieces in the Imperial Austrian Collection, woven in Brussels in the XVI century, was acquired in 1804 from the Ruffo family of Naples by the Emperor Francis I. Each piece bears the Brussels mark and a monogram. Of the two XVI century sets of nine in the Royal Spanish Collection, one has a Flemish border of ribbons and flowers. The other has a full set of side and bottom borders including, and in the style of, the side borders of the Vatican set (See Tapestry Borders in chapter X), and though without the Brussels mark, signed with the monograms of the weavers who signed the Gonzaga set in the Imperial Austrian Collection. It may be regarded as certain that both the Gonzaga set and the last Spanish set mentioned were woven not long after the com- pletion of the Vatican set and from the same cartoons. Three pieces belonging to the City of Milan, 90 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN exhibited at the Retrospective Exposition there in 1874, and bearing the coat of arms of Cardinal Mazarin, Muentz regards as identical with tapestries woven for Louis XIV's famous minister in Paris and bequeathed by him to Marquis Mancini. The set now in the Cathedral of Beauvais was woven at the Beauvais works by Philip Behagle, whose signature appears in the selvage. At the Gobelins several sets have been woven, notably one by Laurent, Lefevre, and Jans under the direction of Lebrun. About sets woven at Mortlake, see chapter V. For illustration of Acts of the Apostles tapestries, see plates nos. 83, 85, 89, 91, 93. The subjects of the ten original tapestries are: (1) the Miraculous Draught of Fish, (2) the Charge to Saint Peter, (3) the Cure of the Paralytic, (4) the Death of Ananias, (5) the Stoning of Saint Stephen, (6) the Conversion of Saint Paul, (7) Elymas Struck Blind, (8) the Sacrifice at Lystra, (9) Saint Paul in Prison, (10) Saint Paul on the Areopagus. In reproductions, Saint Paul in Prison was uniformly omitted because of its small size and lack of interest. From the cartoons bought for Mortlake and now at South Kensington, the Stoning of Saint Stephen and the Conversion of Saint Paul were also missing, so that Mortlake sets contain seven tapestries only. The original tapestries woven for Leo X had their share of vicissitude. The walls of the Vatican were no protection. The portableness of the tapestries made them the easy prey of looters and thieves, PLATE no. 91. Raphael's Acts of the Apostles. Above, the Miraculous Draft of Fish, one of a set of eight in the Beauvais Cathedral, signed by BEHAGLE proprietor of the Beauvais Tapestry Works at the end of the XVII century. Below, the Conversion of Saul, one of a set of nine at Hampton Court, purchased at the Alba Sale 1877 by Baron d'Erlanger and by him presented to the British Nation. The tapestries of this set are signed with the Brussels 92 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN while the other decorations of the Sistine — the frescoes — stayed securely in place. Their first mis- fortune was to be pawned immediately after Leo's death in 1521. The great painter was then dead a year, so both Leo and Raphael were spared the ignominy of seeing the tapestries mortgaged for the comparatively small sum of 5,000 ducats. Next the tapestries were loot for the hordes that sacked Rome, in 1527, under the Constable Bourbon. The soldiers sold them in various parts of the world. The "Conversion of Saul" and "St. Paul at Athens" are known to have been in Venice the following year. This latter piece wandered to Constantinople where it and the "Draught of Fishes" were bought by the Constable Montmorency and returned to Julius III. The worst fate of all befell the tapestry of " Elymas Struck Blind." This the soldiers cut in pieces to sell the more readily. A quarter of a century later the Vatican regained possession of enough fragments to piece together half of it. It is missing from the Morgan photographs mentioned below. After the tapestries were reassembled in Rome they left their places only to be shown to the populace every Corpus Christi. This custom lasted until 1798. In that year the French arm)' under Berthier entered the Holy City. Barely two weeks later the French carried Pius VII off to die in France, after long captivity, and ordered an auction sale of the Vatican furnishings. French second-hand dealers were there in numbers, and among the bargains they s - ° B d id o • -g S M 3 « « ja ft 1 O ■S fi o M O (* « .S/| « PI no*. £ 4> o ^ J3 O, .3 « 0. 2. xi . v ** m* | ** S 1 bo d +* Ml " 7. u S * 3 < s ° a 'g 2 o 3 £> O 94 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN picked up were the Raphael tapestries at 1,250 piastres each. The dealers took them to Paris and offered them to the French Government. Pending the decision the tapestries enriched the walls of the Louvre. The new republic apparently had more important uses for its money and let the opportunity pass. The tapestries were returned to Marseilles and finally made their way back to the Vatican in 1808. How they got there no one can explain. This journey terminated their wanderings. In the photograph room of the Library of the Metropolitan Museum are large photographs, pictur- ing the Vatican set as it is now, especially made for Mr. Morgan and by him presented to the Museum. One of the most prolific designers of cartoons for tapestries in the style of the Italian Renaissance was Raphael's pupil Giulio Romano. His most famous sets were the Story of Scipio, in 22 pieces, and the Fruits of War, in 8 pieces. For a set of the former Francois I paid 23,000 ecus, and of the original colour sketches 15 have been discovered by Colonel d'Astier and M. Jean Guiffrey in the Cabinet of Designs at the Louvre. Other sets attributed to Giulio Romano are the Story of Romulus and Remus in the Brussels Museum, woven about 1540 for Cardinal d'Este; and the Grotesque Months (Ara- besque), in the French National Collection. Other sets designed by Italian painters are the ten pieces of Vertumnus and Pomona, acquired by Charles V at Amiens in 1546, now in the Royal a, v M 3 u o -b ° H -o •s s a a 4) "O S a 0) w 4) « s £ m 5 v •a s W 1 in w m 3 .l-S G i_ o T3 W S 96 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Spanish Collection; the Story of Psyche, in 26 pieces, after sketches by Raphael, some of which are pre- served at Fontainebleau and at Pau; the Story of Moses at the Chartres Museum, perhaps modelled on the designs Raphael made for the Loggie; the Story of Vulcan and Venus (See chapter V under Mortlake). However, in the midst of all these Italian Renais- sance pictures, there were two Flemish painters who held their own — Barend Van Orley and Lucas Van Leyden. To the latter are attributed the Months of Lucas in 12 pieces; to the latter the Hunts of Maximilian, in 12 pieces, otherwise known as the Belles Chasses de Guise because of the famous set owned by the Duke of Guise, woven by Francois Geubels of Brussels, and now in the Louvre. Both sets were immensely popular in the XVII and XVIII centuries as well as in the XVI century, and both were reproduced at the Gobelins (See chapter VI) over and over again. Another important set in seven pieces, designed by Van Orley, of which the Louvre has the original sketches, was the Battle of Pavia presented by the Netherlands to Charles V in 1531 (See plate no. 309). It illustrates the Capture of Francis I, his Departure for Spain, and his Captivity at Madrid. By a curious lack of tact it hung in the very hall of the Palace of Brussels where Admiral Coligny was received in 1556, when he went to ratify the Peace of Vauxcelles in the name of Henri II. By the Infante Don Carlos, eldest son of Philip II, it was M-9 5 J J3 98 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN bequeathed in his will dated May 19, 1564, to his preceptor Don Honorato Juan. By Don Alfonso de Pescara, last representative of the Avalos family of Naples, it was bequeathed to the Museum of Naples in his will of August 18, 1862. For many years the tapestries were kept in the Museum store- room, and only recently put on exhibition. Another important set dealing with contemporary history was the Conquest of Tunis, woven by Wil- lem Van Pannemaker, of Brussels, for the Emperor Charles V. The designs were by Charles V's painter Vermeyen, who accompanied him on the campaign. CHAPTER IV Flemish and Burgundian Looms The principal Flemish cities famous for tapestry weaving were Arras, Brussels, Tournai, Bruges, Enghien, Oudenarde, Middlebourg, Lille, Antwerp, Delft. Of these Arras and Lille are now in France, Delft in Holland, the others in Belgium. Romantic as is the history of these Flemish cities, and necessary as a knowledge of it is to those who would know Flemish tapestries, the changes in sovereignty were so frequent as to be very confusing, and rather hard reading. Consequently I have introduced, in small type, a brief resume with dates that will be found invaluable for reference by those who at any time want questions answered about Flemish, Burgun- dian, Philip the Good, Charles the Bold, Mary of Burgundy, the Emperor Maximilian, Philip the Handsome, the Emperor Charles Y, the Emperor Ferdinand I, Margaret of Austria, Mary of Hun- gary, the Spanish King Philip II, Margaret of Parma, the Archdukes of the Netherlands Isabel and Albert, the Spanish Netherlands, the Austrian Netherlands. During the first three-quarters of the Gothic XV century, the terms Flemish and Burgundian are synonymous as far as tapestry is concerned. For the Duke of Burgundy acquired, 99 100 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN in addition to the French Duchy of Burgundy, the provinces of Flanders and Artois through his wife in 1384, while his grandson Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy from 1419 to 1467, added province after province of the Netherlands — Namur in 1427, Holland, Zeeland, Hainault, Friesland in 1428; Brabant and Limburg in 1430. He also acquired the duchy of Luxemburg by purchase in 1443. In power he was superior to the King of France, and met on equal terms with the Emperor and the King of England. His court was the most brilliant and polite in Europe. For him were painted the finest paintings, illuminated the most beautiful manu- scripts, and woven the richest tapestries. France lay pros- trate under English control after the battle of Agincourt, in 1415, and the Treaty of Troyes and the marriage of the English King Henry V to Catherine, daughter of the French King Charles VI, in 1420, until Joan of Arc raised the siege of Orleans in 1429 and started Charles VII of France on the road back to power. In the XIV century, Paris had been an important centre of tapestry-weaving. In the XV century the industry appears to have been confined principally to the Flemish cities and to the cities in Italy and elsewhere that imported Flemish weavers. (See Italian Looms in chapter VII.) The power of Philip the Good was inherited by his son Charles the Bold (1467-1477), who added Liege and Gelderland to the Burgundian dominions, but was interrupted in his triumphal course by successive defeats at the hands of the Swiss in the battles of Granson, March 2, 1476; Morat, June 22, 1476; Nancy, January 5, 1477. At Nancy, Charles himself was among the slain, leaving his only daughter Mary of Burgundy sole heiress to all his possessions. Louis XI of France claimed the reversion of the French fiefs and seized Burgundy, Franche Comte, and Artois. But the Nether- lands would have none of him, and supported Mary, whose marriage to Archduke Maximilian of Austria introduced the long period of Hapsburg rule. When Maximilian was elected Emperor, in 1494, he handed over the Netherlands to his son 102 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Philip the Handsome, whose marriage to Joanna (Jeanne) of Aragon ultimately brought Aragon and Castile under the sovereignty of his son Charles, whose election as Emperor Charles V, in 1519, on the death of his grandfather Maximil- ian, concentrated in his hands more authority than had been possessed by any ruler since Charlemagne. When Charles's father died in 1506, his widowed aunt, Margaret of Austria, was appointed by Maximilian to act as governor-general of the Netherlands. After Charles assumed the government, at the age of 15 (in 1515), she continued to act for him, and was successful in securing and retaining the loyalty of all Netherlanders. After the death of Margaret, in 1530, Charles appointed his widowed sister, Mary of Hungary, to the regency. So much of the history of the Netherlands is it necessary to know in order to understand the term Burgundian, as applied to XV century tapestries, and also to understand how the richest collection of Renaissance tapestries in the world came to be in Spain. When Charles abdicated, in 1555, he was succeeded in Spain and the Netherlands by his son Philip II, but the imperial power went to Charles's brother Ferdinand I, who was already Archduke of Austria and King of Hungary. Philip was a thorough Spaniard who did not like the Netherlands, and in 1559 sailed for Spain, leaving as regent Margaret of Parma, a natural daughter of Charles V. During the religious and anti-Spanish wars that ensued, the French Catholic South became alienated from the Dutch Protestant North. The latter is now the Kingdom of Holland, the former the Kingdom of Belgium (since 1830). In 1598 Philip appointed his eldest daughter Isabel and her husband Albert "the archdukes" of the Netherlands, but over the northern or Dutch Netherlands (the United Provinces) they were never able to exercise authority. Under their rule, tapestry weaving — among other industries of the Southern Netherlands that had been interrupted by the long struggle - 10 » .5 T3 J3 a - rn S W hJ ■ 5 .3 a « 3 2 3 |« n (S I .s 5 a Q -S ja t; 5 -s a — ja w "2 K n J3 .» .M ** to a s.a to rg 11 a 2 * a * a»|V.II — „ >> — 4> M 1 1 a s § l A - 3 oo " w Q m * H B (I * £ - a x S ^ "8 .a "S s g S « 1 1 o 5 -a o « a .a £: " '■S - § M ts o « «- a " 5 I "s r n -s & ^ « S * 15 .3 2 JB a> to m « _, — — c £ >, u .9 H .2 5 a 3 "g a "S [? 2 .9 "S 4) 73 to '> "S 'C »s a « • * 1 g , a u t; jb £? 3 * 5 « a I 5 2 * -a s tu bfl - ° .a § o £ 3 o a *r t1 „ O > o a .a u 2 s . " •*. 4) g ,»* 4> «a5o° O) ri ~ [A (4 "> "3 5 3 Si a jn 'C ^, 5S o. 4> o S 5.2 &§> g _: a • u S 6: 1 SO; I 3 in n • 2 _ a t- t3 tb a .2 2 M « 9 £ ^ ?fiB«SS "^ ~ ■(! M « -g CO o 1- 3 1- — to td O S 4) a " ifi 5 3 -a E B 2 2 to ° v ■ S i? — « -a 2 ffl m ■ 5^ H g = « g .a i S 2 « a •2bS g^ g jb ■- a 5 2 a ti 4) 5 3 jb — 1 a a 104 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN against Spain — began to revive but never regained its ancient importance. On the death of Isabel, in 1633, the Southern Netherlands reverted to Spain and were known as the Spanish Netherlands until 1713, when they passed under the control of the Emperor Charles VI and until the French Revolution were known as the Austrian Netherlands. CHAPTER V MORTLAKE, MERTON, AND OTHER ENGLISH LOOMS The success of Henri IV of France in importing low-warp weavers from Flanders, and establishing the industry at Paris in 1607, stirred England to imitation. A copy of the agreement made by Henri IV with Marc de Comans and Francois de la Planche, was secured and a royal commission was appointed to consider the proposals of Sir Francis Crane, last lay chancellor of the Order of the Garter, and a prominent figure at the Courts of both James I and Charles I. In August, 1619, Sir Francis was granted the fees for the making of three baronets. At this point it is interesting to note that the baronetcy is a title created in 161 1 by James I, "a new Dignitie between Barons and Knights," for the purpose of raising money. The fees that each new baronet must pay, at first amounted to £1,095, but were probably less by 1619. In return for this grant of money in the form of fees, and for the exclusive privilege for twenty-one years of making tapestries (tapissiers already estab- lished being excepted on presenting proper evidence to the commissioners), and for freedom from taxation, Sir Francis was to equip the plant and accept a 105 106 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN certain number of seven-year apprentices from the Hospitals of the City of London. The King's agents abroad at once began to arrange secretly for the importation of Flemish weavers. In 1620 the secretary of the Flemish embassy at London reported to his sovereigns, Albert and Isabel the Archdukes of the Netherlands, that fifty had already arrived. Among them were Josse Inghele, Jacques Hendrix, Pierre Foquentin, Simon Heyns, of Oudenarde; and Josse Ampe of Bruges. Among those who came soon after, were Peter de Craight, Louis Vermoulen, and Philip de Maecht who became manager of the works at Mortlake, and who had previously been manager of an atelier for Comans and Planche in Paris. His monogram appears in the selvage of Paris as well as of Mortlake tapestries. The Prince of Wales who became King on March 27, 1623, as Charles I, and his bosom friend and mentor "Steenie," Marquis of Buckingham (Duke of Buckingham after May 18, 1623), were enthusias- tic patrons of Sir Francis. The first important set woven at Mortlake a suburb of London, was Vulcan and Venus, in nine pieces bearing the monogram of Charles in cartouches in the side borders, the three feathers of the Prince of Wales in the cartouche in the top border, and in the bottom border four sceptres crossed with a ribbon bearing the Latin inscription Sceptra fovent artes, which in the one of this set owned by Mrs. Von Zedlitz and exhibited on loan at the Metropolitan Museum (See plate no. 107), reads favcnt by error for fovent. The phrase J= o < tf c li W V H < ■a 0) H-l U< o s ^ 108 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN means Sceptres (that is to say, Kings) foster the arts. The one of this set in the Victoria and Albert Museum, illustrated by Thomson opposite page 304, also has favent. Both of these tapestries are signed with the Mortlake shield and the monogram of Philip de Maecht in the bottom selvage, but the bottom selvage of Mrs. Von Zedlitz's tapestry is now attached vertically on the right, the original selvage there evidently having worn away. Charles and Buckingham were not as prompt with payments as with orders. During their absence in Spain in 1623, Sir Francis wrote to King James a letter that is reprinted by Thomson from page 285 of the European Magazine for October, 1786. He beseeches the King to excuse his boldness in thus addressing him, and explains that he is "already above £16,000 in the busynes and never made returns of more than £2,500, so that my estate is wholly exhausted and my credit is spent." "and I know not how to give continuance to the busyness one month longer." He also says: "The Prince and My Lord Marquis both (to whom a little before their journey I presented my necessities . . ) gave me commandment to keep the busy- ness afoote, and promised me for the present to keep the fire goinge (which was the Prince's own phrase), that I should instantly receive the money layed out for my Lord Marquis, which was £3,200, and that I should have besides the benefit of two Serjeants [meaning the fees paid by them on assuming office]. "The Prince gave me order to go into hande HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 109 with a rich suite of the Months and to send to Genna [Genoa] for certayne drawings of Raphaell of that Urbin, which were desseignes for tapestries made for Pope Leo the X, and for which there is £300 to be payed, besides their charge of bringing home." The Prince wrote from Madrid, directing his council to pay £700 for the tapestry drawings ordered from Italy, and £500 on the set of the Twelve Months being woven for him at Mortlake. He was anxious to have the set finished before his return to England. Early in the history of the Mortlake industry, Francis Cleyn, a student in Italy, in the service of Charles' uncle, Christian IV of Denmark, was brought to the notice of Prince Charles, and per- mission was secured for him to enter the English service. His work was so much liked that on June 4, 1625, Charles, shortly after his accession to the throne, granted him a life salary of £100 a year. As shown on page 112 of volume XVIII of Rymer's Foedera: "Know ye that we do give and graunt unto Francis Cleyn a certain annuitie of one hundred pounds a year during his natural life." Francis Cleyn acted as art director of the Mortlake Tapestry Works until his death in 1658. Cleyn's prosperity, however, was merely an overflow from that of Sir Francis. Nearly a month earlier — on May 10, 1625, to be exact — by a document printed on page 60 of volume XVIII of Rymer's Fcedera under the heading De Concessione Speciali Francesco 110 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Crane Militi, King Charles acknowledges an in- debtedness of £6,000 to Sir Francis, balance due on three suits of gold tapestry, and granted him a pension of £1,000 a year for ten years "for the better Maintenance of the said Workes of Tapestries," and of a second £1,000 a year for the same period to settle the debt, but with the proviso that if at any- time Charles paid the debt in full with interest at 8 per cent., the payment of the second £1,000 a year should cease. The document also provides that the £2,000 a year shall be paid out of the revenues accru- ing " in respect of the Pre-emption of Tynne within the counties of Cornwall and Devon." The first set of Vulcan and Venus, in nine pieces, woven plain without gold, except "in the piece of Apollo and for the letters, 16 oz. at 6s. the ounce," amounting to a total of £4 16s., had cost Charles £2,000, paid in three instalments: £500 on January 15, 1620; £500 on May 17, 1621; £1,000 on March 17, 1621. It was begun on September 16, 1620, and finished on June 5, 1622. The three "suits of gold tapestry," mentioned above — also picturing Vulcan and Venus according to Dru Burton the Auditor-General — who about 1630 lost his position for protesting against what he regarded as the exorbitant charges of Sir Francis — cost Charles, according to Burton, £3,000 apiece. The details that Burton supplies (in the State papers of Charles I) are exceedingly interesting. Vulcan and Venus, he says, "is the foundation of all good Tapestries made in England." The whole HHHHMM HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 111 set contained 479 ells I stick H Flemish. "It cost the undertaker materials, workmanship and all other charges being included, by just account, £905 8s. I9d., which comes to 37s. iod., the Flemish ell or thereabouts. ... It was sold to yr Ma beeing Prince for £2,000 as containing 500 ells fl. at £4, the elle, the most part of the monie being imprested before the work was finished, whereby was clearly gained to the undertaker of that manufacture £1,094 IIS - io^d." A marginal note states that Burton made this account "according to Philip de Maecht's books and instructions [he] being Mr. and Director of the Tapistrs." The items of cost of the first set, reprinted in full by Thomson on page 307, show that Peter de Craight received £23 13s. for weaving the Nakeds, Louis Vermoulen £24 3s. for the Faceworke, Philip de Maecht the overseer Director Tapissiers 4s. out of every ell for the common worke and 4s. the elle for the faceworke, being together 486 ells 10 stocks ^4, amounting to £97 6s. 6d. The cost of "silke, yarne, warpe," and gold is also given in itemized form. Burton's attack did Sir Francis no harm, and the impression one gets from going through the accounts is that Charles I was anxious to be munificent in helping build up the industry. He visited the Mortlake factory in person on March 28, 1629, and even considered with Sir Francis the establishment of another tapestry works in the manorhouse of Grafton. 112 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN The death, in June, 1636, of Sir Francis, who had gone to Paris in March to undergo a surgical opera- tion, ended the prosperity of Mortlake. His brother, Captain Richard Crane, soon got into financial difficulties. The 140 persons connected with the works petitioned the King, claiming that he owed them £545 3s. 8d., and had paid them nothing for nine months. Their petition is described in the State papers as that of "the poor men of Mortlake." One year after the death of Sir Francis, Richard Crane sold out his interest to the King for £5,811 1 os. 6d., and Mortlake became a royal factory known as "the King's Works." The five principal weavers agreed to make 600 ells of tapestry yearly for a fixed price, and to train apprentices. The King, on his part, agreed to give an annual subsidy of £2,000, and to increase the allowance of the art director, Francis Cleyn, to £250 a year, with the understanding that out of that sum he was to pay an assistant. Some of the prices paid to Richard Crane for tapestries woven under his regime and before are interesting. For a set of Hero and Leander, contain- ing 284 Flemish ells at £6 an ell, £1,704. For a piece of Saint Paul and Elymas the Sorcerer containing 83 ells at £8 the ell, £664. For a piece of Diana and Calisto containing 63 ells at £8 the ell, £504. For a set of the Horses, £1,204. For "two pieces on the looms with a tawny border," £269 13s. 6d. For " three other pieces on the looms," £380 10s. 4d. For "two pieces more of the same set, which are finished," £334. For "sundry silks and yarns," £362 13s. 4d. r^ HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 113 In January, 1638, a set of the Story of Saint Paul, containing 3,064 ells Flemish, was sold to the Lord Chamberlain for £804 us. 3d. In De- cember, 1639, five pieces of the Story of the Apostles were sold to the Earl Holland for £886 17s. 6d. In 1 64 1, one of the workmen received £85 with which to purchase cartoons of the Story of Dido and JEneas, in the Netherlands. The outbreak of the Great Rebellion in 1642 made it impossible for the King to keep up his payments. In 1643 he owed the works £3,937 and the workmen petitioned for leave to export tapestries to the Netherlands free of duty, a remarkable instance of wanting to "carry coals to Newcastle." On January 30, 1649, Charles I was put to death at Whitehall in London. One of the first acts of the Commonwealth (1649- 1660), was to make a priced inventory of the house- hold goods "belonging to the late King," and have them sold "by order of the Council of State, from ye severall Places and Palaces," as Denmark House, Somerset House, Oatelands, Windsor, Hampton Court, Richmond, Syon House, Whitehall, Caris- brook, etc., etc. The inventory was among the manuscripts (Bibl. Harl. No. 4898), collected by Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford and Queen Anne's famous minister, and now preserved in the British Museum. The part of the inventory covering tapestries will be found complete on pages 351-395 of Thomson. Nevertheless, the Commonwealth made some 114 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN efforts to promote the weaving of tapestries at Mort- lake. The buildings were repaired, and Sir Gilbert Pickering was put in charge, with John Holliburie (Hallenbirch), as overseer. In 1653 Mantegna's series of nine paintings picturing the Triumph of Caesar, was ordered sent from Hampton Court in order that it might be copied for use as tapestry cartoons. In 1657, Philip Hallenbirch proposed the execution of the Story of Abraham, by himself. The Council of State finally referred the question of new designs to Francis Cleyn, giving him the option of weaving one or both "if his Highness [Cromwell] shall so direct." Cromwell was personally so fond of tapestry as to hang his bedroom at Hampton Court with "five pieces of fine tapestry hangings of Vulcan and Venus." The Restoration of 1660 did not help matters much at Mortlake. Not until 1662 were the pro- posals of Sir Sackville Crow to Charles II for the revival of the industry acted on. In that year he received a grant of the government of the tapestry works at Mortlake with £1,000 a year toward the upkeep, and a warrant to search out all paintings and cartoons for tapestry that had belonged to Charles I. He was to pay a nominal rent of 5s. per year, and Verrio, the court painter, was to supply designs. In 1667 Sir Sackville sent in his resignation, finding — so he says in a letter dated May, 1670, to the Countess of Rutland, preserved in the Belvoir Manuscripts and reprinted by the Historical Manu- HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 115 scripts Commission of Great Britain — "that busines without his Majestie's encouragement rather a burden than a bennifitt to mee to keepe itt upp to that perfection I found and made itt." Francus Poyntz was the next manager of the Mortlake tapestry works and continued to hold the position until at least 1678. In 1668 Charles II paid him £495 5s. for a set of the Bacchanals, and £316 6s. 3d. for the Story of Polidore. In 1669 he bought five Caesar panels after Mantegna's designs — 137/4 Flemish ells (a square Flemish ell is 9/16 of a yard), at £4 a yard — for £550. Also the Acts of the Apostles, 143^ ells at £1 15s. per ell, for £251 us. 3d. In 1673 five tapestries picturing the Story of the Boyes (Giulio Romano's Children Playing), containing 86K ells, were acquired for the King's Great Wardrobe, at £4 an ell, for £345 6s. 8d. Poyntz's initials and the date 1672 appear on a large tapestry belonging to the Marquis of Chol- mondeley (Houghton Hall), illustrated by Thomson opposite page 324, and picturing separately with borders between, James I, and Anne of Denmark his Queen, Charles I and Henrietta Maria his Queen, Christian IV of Denmark brother of Anne. The vertical borders also carry in the middle, oval medallion portraits of the royal children. The price paid for this tapestry was £1,416 13s. nd. There are also three pieces of tapestry signed by Francus Poyntz at Hampton Court, in the Prince of Wales' Bedroom. They illustrate the naval 116 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN battle of Solebay (Southwold), fought on May 28, 1672, between the Dutch under De Ruyter and the combined English and French fleets under the Duke of York and the Count d'Estrees. It is difficult to understand why the English wished to commemorate the event in tapestry, for the allies were distinctly worsted, the Duke of York losing his flagship, and his second in command the Earl of Sandwich losing not only his ship but his life. These three pieces of tapestry, probably only part of the original set, are 12 feet high, and the first two are each 24 feet long. The third piece is folded in. The panels show ships in action and are not par- ticularly interesting in design or weave or color. Indeed it is to these three tapestries that Boettiger Swedish, page 7$ of volume II, attributes the fact that "the products of the Mortlake factory do not appear to be well known or much appreciated in England." The first and third pieces are signed with the Mortlake shield between the initials F and P. The second piece substitutes for the initials the full name FRANCVS POYNTZ. The Mortlake shield — that is, the shield of St. George, a red cross on a silver ground — appears in its complete form, not misshapen and with cross gone as on many Mortlake tapestries. In 1678 Poyntz petitioned the King on behalf of the foreign Roman Catholic weavers, whom a recent proclamation obliged to leave the country (page 69 of part 2 of report XI of Britain Manuscripts). He also seized the opportunity to bring the whole HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 117 tapestry situation to the King's attention. He argued that England had the best wool in the world for tapestry, and that the added imports of silk from Turkey would increase the exports of English wool in exchange. The workmen in France and Flanders were not thriving and could easily be induced to cross the Channel. The £100,000 paid every year for imported tapestry would be kept at home. Poyntz's petition does not appear to have pro- duced the desired result and the business continued in the doldrums. Finally, in 1703, the property was released by Queen Anne from the restrictions imposed by Charles I that it must be used for the manufacture of tapestry. This was the end of the Mortlake tapestry works. That the Mortlake Works were in operation as late as 1688, when Ralph Montague was created Earl, is proved by four square tapestry table-covers bearing, in the middle on a dark green ground, his arms as Earl Montague of Houghton, with wide bor- der of foliage and eagles and arms in the middle of each side. Montague House and Houghton both contain certain pieces from the Naked Boys series with small borders. About the merit of the tapestries woven at Mort- lake during the lifetime of Sir Francis Crane, there can be no difference of opinion. The manager, Philip de Maecht, was highly efficient, the artistic director, Francis Cleyn, was equally skilful at adapting and creating, and there was money available to buy supplies and pay the men. 118 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Among the most famous sets woven in the golden period were Vulcan and Venus, after XVI century designs (by Rivieres on the authority of Sir Sack- ville Crow in a letter to the Countess of Rutland dated May 7, 1670); the Naked Boyes, after the XVI century designs of Raphael's pupil Giulio Romano; the Acts of the Apostles after the famous cartoons of Raphael that are still preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum; Hero and Leander, and the Horses, by Francis Cleyn; the Twelve Months, after XVI century designs. The Triumph of Julius Caesar, by Mantegna, nine paintings, nine feet square, still preserved at Hampton Court, appears to have been first put on the looms in the reign of Charles II, from cartoons ordered by Cromwell. Probably the best monument to the Mortlake tapestry works is the set of Acts of the Apostles, after Raphael (See my chapter on Renaissance Tapestries), preserved in the French National Col- lection. Four of them are illustrated in Guichard French. The full set of seven is described in Louis XIV Inventory no. 34 on page 300 of volume I, as follows: "Acts of the Apostles. A set of low-warp tapestry of wool and silk enriched with gold, made in England, design of Raphael, representing the Acts of the Apostles, in a border with red ground and with cartouches in which there are medallions and colour of gilded bronze where are represented different stories of the New Testament, accompanied by angles r -^mamm^~-^^ ■ i HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 119 and by figures with festoons of flowers and fruit. In the middle of the top border are the arms of England supported by a lion and a unicorn. Con- tains 40 aunes [French ell of 46^ inches] in total length by 4.H aunes high, in seven pieces." Louis XIV also had two other sets of the Acts of the Apostles with gold and attributed to England, no. 30 in seven pieces yA aunes high and no. 35 in four pieces 4K aunes high. No. 30 had a simpler border than no. 34, and neither bore the royal arms of England. According to page 26 of Muentz Vatican there now remain in the French National Collection 15 out of the 18 pieces enumerated above. Miintz was mistaken in saying that Louis XIV owned only two sets of Mortlake Acts of the Apostles, and in taking his transcription from the inventory, he omitted Mortlake tapestry no. 34, which is the most important set that has survived (See plate no. 93). The identity of this set of tapestries is made certain not only by the very exact description of the border contained in the inventory, but also by the Mortlake shield, and the monogram of Sir Francis Crane, that appear in the selvage of some of the pieces. Also, by the Car. re. reg. Mortl., which unabbreviated reads Carolo rege regnante Mortlake, and means At Mortlake in the reign of King Charles. Tradition says that Rubens, having seen the Raphael cartoons in Brussels, persuaded Charles I to buy them about 1630. I prefer to follow Sir Francis Crane who, in 1623, in his letter of remon- strance to King James about money matters, quoted 120 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN earlier in this chapter, says definitely and specifically that Prince Charles had already ordered him to send to Genoa for these Raphael drawings. Tradition also says that Antoine Van Dyck, the fashionable portrait painter of the Court of Charles I designed the borders of the Acts of the Apostles sets woven at Mortlake. I can find no facts to support the tradition and am inclined to give Francis Cleyn credit for these and other borders, including those used on the first Vulcan and Venus sets, and the Hero and Leander set now in Sweden. There is undeniably a striking similarity of style between all of these borders, and we know that the Hero and Leander ones are Cleyn's. Indeed, one of the most attractive features of Mortlake tapestries is those distinctive borders that indicate a strong per- sonality at the art helm. If Cleyn erred in the direc- tion of too pronounced relief and shadow effects, he was not the only XVII century master to do so. The set of six pieces picturing the Story of Hero and Leander is described in the inventory of the year 1656, of the tapestries of the Swedish King Charles Gustave as "beautiful tapestries of fine quality, new, enriched with gold and silver, which were given to His Royal Majesty (as a wedding present) by Count Johan (Axelstierna)." Five of the original set of six pieces are still in the possession of the Swedish Crown (See plate no. 121). To Americans, the Vulcan and Venus sets woven at Mortlake, are of especial interest, because con- crete examples are on exhibition at the Metropolitan HERO AND LEANDER PLATE no. 121. Scene from the Story of Hero and Leander, a Mortlake tapestry designed by Francis Cleyn, in the Swedish Royal Collection together with four others of the original set of six. The set was given to the Swedish King, Charles Gustave as a wedding present by Count Johan Axelstierna and is described in the inventory of the year 1656 as "beautiful tapestries of fine quality, enriched with gold and silver." Next to the Acts of the Apostles set in the French National Collection, this is the most interesting Mortlake set that survives. It is a pity that the British National Collection is so poor in Mortlake tapestries. 122 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Museum, one lent by Mrs. A. von Zedlitz, the other three by Mr. Philip Hiss. The first (See plate no. 107), illustrates the Complaint of Vulcan to Jupiter; the last three, Venus and Cupid, the Duenna Warn- ing Vulcan, Vulcan entering with the Net (See plate no. 123). The first is 14 feet 3 inches high by 15 feet 8; the others, 13 feet 5 by 8; 13 feet ^/ 2 by 8 feet 2, 13 feet 9 by 8 feet 4. The first belongs to the first Mortlake set of Vulcan and Venus, described in a previous paragraph of this chapter. An interesting set of Vulcan and Venus, woven at Mortlake in the early days, is one presented to Charles Gustave King of Sweden, in 1657 by the French King Louis XIV through his ambassador Terlon. The contemporary inventory in French in the Swedish archives is reprinted on page 73 of volume IV of Boettiger Swedish. Vulcan at the Forge, the smallest of the set, 4.25 metres by 3.22 is the only one that survives complete in the Royal Swedish Collection. Like the Hero and Leander set in the same collection, it shows in the selvage the Mortlake mark with Philip de Maecht's mono- gram and also that of Sir Francis Crane. A most interesting fact about the Swedish Vulcan and Venus tapestries is that before they belonged to Louis XIV they were the property of Cardinal Mazarin, and are described with sizes in the in- ventory prepared in 1653, and first published in London in 1861 by Henri d'Orleans, the Duke d'Aumale {Mazarin Inventory). The description reads in English: ° as 4> 3 _ 3 U 5 eg" 53 * s tion rmo nter O .«" 4) 3 » O al Co on h Vulca a m o c 2 * 5 "0 « ag 3 <3 w fa m £ ^5 « ° 3 * S ■- i> >n - .3 -Q • M-, 5) 0) ^ 4) .3 o J3 r/J « o> H p 3 'jQ Z, O 3 . w > 3 0) -5 ° •£ 2 o> H 2 o .3 ■» ft . . 4> < stries Hiss all th < tape liilip use 1-1 b „ a, « f> 3 . r u ; > 2 go 4) 3 * > O [can a seum t that 3 u 3 3 3 w 4) A 15 g 5 o a *• s S 2 9 y Two e Me st lett >, > J3 3 o « o a 4) IE 4) M •" 4) O 3 41 C 4) J= W - 3 H J3 5 *^ «* -S? u ►J R > P, 4) O ■s -2 124 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN "Vulcan — another set of very fine low-warp tapestry hangings of wool and silk enriched with gold, made in England, composed of nine pieces, in which is represented the Story of Vulcan, having a large border all around ornamented with marks, foliage, and faces in bas-relief with shields of the arms of the house of Boukinquan [the French tor- tured poor Buckingham's name variously in the XVII century], the said tapestry 3K aunes high, No. 1. The Dance 5 aun. 2/3 No. 2. The Assemblage of the gods to see the Intrigue 4 " 3/4 No. 3. Apollo watching Mars and Venus 4 " 3/41/8 No. 4. Vulcan Spreading the Net. . 5 " 2/12 No. 5. Complaint of Vulcan to Neptune 3 " 2/12 No. 6. Apollo revealing the Intrigue 5 " 3/4 No. 7. The Complaint of Vulcan to Jupiter 4 " 3/4 No. 8. Discovery of the Intrigue by Vulcan 4 " 1/2 No. 9. Vulcan at the Forge 2 " 3/4 in all 41 H aunes lined with white canvas." The Swedish inventory mentioned above, and a study of the story as told in Homer's Odyssey and Ovid's Metamorphoses, enable one to rearrange these pictures in their proper order, which is nos. 1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 7, 4, 2, 5. The aunes used in the Mazarin inventory are French aunes 46^ inches long. The Flemish aunes used in England were 27 inches long. So that a HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 125 square French aune equals 3 square Flemish aunes. The number of Flemish aunes given by D. Burton, as in the first set of Vulcan and Venus, woven at Mortlake (the gold sets being identical except for the gold), is 479 and a fraction. The number of square French aunes in the Mazarin set of Mortlake Vulcan and Venus, obtained by multiplying the height by the combined widths, is 153 and a fraction. Multiplying 153 by 3 gives 459, which is what would be expected, making allowance for the shrinkage due to age. The reader will note that the Mazarin inventory describes the set as bearing the arms of Buckingham. The one of the set that has survived in Sweden also bears the arms of Buckingham, but overlaid with the arms of the King of Sweden. Who designed the tapestries is a question still open for investigation. Sir Sackville Crow, in his letter to the Countess of Rutland, dated May 7, 1670, says Rivieres, and he ought to know. And in the same breath he refers to Mantegna as the author of the Triumph of Caesar cartoons. That the designs originated in the XVI century is clear from the five XVI century Brussels tapestries first exhibited to the modern world in Paris in 1876, at the exposition of the Union Centrale, after having been long buried in the grade-meuble (wardrobe) of the Chateau de la Roche-Guyon. One bears the Brussels mark in the bottom selvage and all carry the signature of the maker in the vertical selvage on the right — the letter R with a tiny flower in gold 126 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN (See Alfred Darcel on page 189 of volume XVI of the Gazette des Beaux Arts, 1876). L 'Art for the year 1881 gives large illustrations of all five in line. One of the scenes is the same as that in the Victoria and Albert Museum tapestry mentioned above, and another is the same as that of Mrs. Von Zedlitz's tapestry, except that the latter extends farther on the right, showing the whole of the boat instead of only part. Perhaps by Rivieres, Sir Sackville Crow meant George Van Der Riviere, an historical and decora- tive painter who worked for the magistracy of Ghent from 1528 to 1576 (See Adolphe Siret, Dictionnaire des Peintres, Louvain, 1883). However that may be, the borders of the Mort- lake tapestries last named are radically different from the XVI century borders, while the borders of the three panels belonging to Mr. Hiss are the same with slight modifications. These three panels are all signed with the Mortlake mark and two with Philip de Maecht's monogram. But the most in- teresting feature is that these three tapestries all carry in the top border, added long after the tapestries were woven, the coat of arms (See plate no. 123), of Charles-Auguste Goyon de Gace de Matignon (1 647-1 729), who commanded the ex- pedition fitted out in the Spring of 1708 by Louis XIV to help Prince James (son of James II of England, and known to history as the Old Pretend- er), back to the throne via Scotland. He had 6,000 French soldiers with him, and after being delayed HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 127 a week at Dunkirk because Prince James fell ill of the measles, finally set sail on the night of March 17. They had planned to land at Leith, but the French admiral missed the Firth of Forth in the night and being followed up closely by the English fleet, finally returned to Dunkirk. So the expedition was a complete failure, and the only one who came out ahead, as Voltaire puts it, was Matignon who, on opening his orders at sea, had found himself designated Marshal of France. Evidently Prince James was also beforehand with a token of apprecia- tion, in the form of these three tapestries. No one of the three is the same picture as any of the original set of nine. The second and third are a pair designed in the same style and with the same personages. The first is different in scale and was evidently added at the desire of the person for whom they were woven. These three are shorter than the original Mortlake ones and were clearly planned to fit a particular room. THE MORRIS TAPESTRY WORKS AT MERTON William Morris (1834-96) who founded the tapestry works at Merton near London in 1881, was a genius. He had more influence on the industrial arts, I believe, than any other man in the world's history. He actually made the blind see and the lame walk. He changed the whole point of view of thousands who buy art objects, and the methods of many who produce them. 128 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN He had no sympathy with the aims and methods of the Royal Windsor Tapestry Works. In a lecture the year of their establishment, he said: "I am sorry to have to say that an attempt to set the art going, which has been made, doubtless with the best intentions, under royal patronage at Windsor, within the last few years, has most un- luckily gone on the lines of the work at the Gobelins, and if it does not change its system utterly, is doomed to artistic failure, whatever its commercial success may be." The extraordinary thing about William Morris's revival of the art of tapestry weaving as practised in the XVI century, is that he did it with his own hands. All other revivals with which I am acquaint- ed imported trained workmen from the centres of tapestry production — from Flanders to Italy and other countries in the XV century; from Flanders to Paris and Mortlake at the beginning of the XVII century; from Beauvais to St. Petersburg and Madrid at the beginning of the XVIII century; from Aubusson to Windsor and Williamsbridge in the XIX century. But William Morris imported no workmen from abroad. Indeed, he did not approve of their methods. He visited the Gobelins to see what the mechanism was really like and then studied out the details of the craft from an old French official handbook published prior to the Revolution, had a loom set up in his bedroom at Kelmscott House, Hammer- smith, and in order to avoid interfering with his 130 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN other occupations, used to rise betimes and practise weaving in the early hours of the morning. In four months of the year 1879 he spent no less than 516 hours at it. His diary is headed, "Diary of work on Cabbage and Vine Tapestry, at Kelmscott House, Hammersmith. Begun May 10, 1879." He was still at it in the spring of 1881. On March 12, 1 88 1 , his diary reads (quoted in Mackail's William Morris II., 45), "up at 7:30, about four hours tapes- try." A week later, " up at 6}4, four hours tapestry." As the mornings lengthened in April, "up at 6, two hours tapestry"; "up at 5:30, three hours tapestry." Morris had a special affection for tapestry. Four years before work was begun at Merton he wrote to Mr. T. Wardle in March, 1877: "The tapestry is a bright dream indeed; but it must wait till I get my carpets going; though have had it in my head lately, because there is a great sale now on in Paris of some of the finest ever turned out; much too splendid for anybody save the biggest pots to buy." The sale referred to was that of the Duke of Berwick and Alba's collection (See Alba Sale 1877). In November of the same year in another letter to Mr. Wardle, Morris discusses the commercial side of tapestry: "Let's clear off what you say about the possibility of establishing a non-artistic manufactory. You could do it, of course; 'tis only a matter of money and trouble; but cui bono? It would not amuse you (unless I wholly misunder- stand you), and would, I am sure, not pay commcr- 132 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN cially; a cheap new article at once showy and ugly, if advertised, with humbug enough, will sell, of course; but an expensive article, even with ugliness to recommend it ... I don't think anything under a Duke could sell it . . . Nothing is so beautiful as fine tapestry, nothing so ugly and base as bad; e.g., the Gobelins or the present Aubusson work; also tapestry is not for anything but figure work (except now and then I shall mention wherein pres- ently). The shuttle and loom beat it on one side, the needle on the other, as pattern-work; but for figure-work, 'tis the only way of making a web into a picture. . . . The exception I mentioned above would be the making of leaf and flower pieces (greeneries, des verdures), which would generally be used to eke out a set of figure-pieces. ... I intend setting up a frame and working at it myself. . . . To recapitulate: Tapestry at its highest is the painting of pictures with coloured wools on a warp; nobody but an artist can paint pictures; but a sort of half-picture, i.e., scroll-work or leafage could be done . . . under direction." In March, 1878, he writes to Mr. Wardle: "I enclose a warp from a sixteenth-century piece of tapestry, which as you see is worsted: the pitch is 12 to the inch: nothing in tapestry need be finer than this. In setting up your work you must re- member that as tapestry hangs on the wall the. warps are horizontal, though of course you weave with them vertical. If you send me the space of your loom I will make a design for it." 134 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Of contemporary French tapestry weaving Morris said in a lecture delivered in December, 1877, and reprinted under the title of the Lesser Arts: "If you are curious on the subject of its [tapestry] technic you may see that going on as in its earlier, or let us say its real, life at the Gobelins in Paris; but it is a melancholy sight: the workmen are as handy at it as only Frenchmen can be at such work, and their skill is traditional, too, I have heard: for they are the sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons of tapestry weavers. Well, their ingenuity is put to the greatest pains for the least results; it would be a mild word to say that what they make is worth- less; it is more than that; it has a corrupting and deadening influence upon all the Lesser Arts of France, since it is always put forward as the very standard and crown of all that these arts can do at the best; a more idiotic waste of human labour and skill it is impossible to conceive. There is another branch of the same stupidity, differing slightly in technic, at Beauvais; and the little town of Au- busson in mid-France has a decaying commercial industry of the like rubbish." In Morris's earliest experiments in weaving, as far back as the year 1878, he had the assistance of Mr. J. W. Dearie whom he taught as he learned, and who still carries on the work at Merton. At first they confined themselves to floral designs. The first figure tapestry was the Goose Girl at Merton in 1 88 1, from a cartoon by Walter Crane. After that, with one exception, the figures were designed ga "S3 3 v a bo o a -s <*4 W .2 i> w 3 136 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN by Burne-Jones, but in the form of wash drawings with little colour. The colours were put in and the foliage, flowers and borders were designed by Morris and Dearie (See chapter IX). "At Merton," says Mr. Wardle on page 47 of volume II of Mackail's William Morris, "the three apprentices Dearie, Sleath and Knight, lived in the house. We gave them board and lodging and a certain weekly stipend. It is worth while to note that there was no sort of selection of these boys. Dearie was put to the tapestry because that business then wanted an apprentice; and so of the other two." Among important tapestries produced at Merton: the Star of Bethlehem for Exeter College Chapel at Oxford (See plate no. 135); the Seasons at the Victoria and Albert Museum; Flora, Pomona; the Primavera of Botticelli; Praising Angels and Min- istering Angels, for Eton College Chapel; the Pass- ing of Venus, burned at the Brussels Exposition in 1 910; scenes from the Roman de la Rose; David instructing Solomon in the Building of the Temple; the splendid set of four tapestries for Stanmore Hall, picturing the Story of the Holy Grail (see plates nos. 129, 131,' 133). The last set was awarded a Grand Prize at the French Exposition of 1900, the only non-French tapestries ever thus honoured. No higher seal of approval could be set upon them. Among later tapestries by other designers are the Blindfolding of Truth, by Byam Shaw (See TRUTH PLATE no. 137. The Blindfolding of Truth, a tapestry designed by Byam Shaw and woven at Merton. It shows that the designer understands true tapestry technique. 138 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN plate no. 137); the Chace, by Heywood Sumner; a large historical tapestry commemorating King George V's coronation, adapted from Bernard Partridge's famous cartoon "The Arming of the King"; a tapestry designed by Mrs. Adrian Stokes illustrating Schiller's lines, Ehret die Frauen, sie flechten und weben Himmlische Rosen auf irdischer Leben. It is worth noting that Merton tapestries are comparatively coarse in texture — from 10 to 16 ribs to the inch. THE ROYAL WINDSOR TAPESTRY WORKS The organisation of the Royal Windsor Tapestry Works in 1876 was due to Mr. H. Henry, art director of a London decorative firm, and to Prince Leopold. While Mr. Henry was on a professional visit to Boy- ton Manor, the Prince's country seat, the latter, who was examining a piece of old tapestry that hung in the hall, said: "Ah, they don't make tapestry now." "Only at the Gobelins and Aubusson," returned Mr. Henry. "Why don't they make it in England?" asked the Prince. "Why don't you start a manufactory?" "It ought to be a national thing," responded Mr. Henry. "If your Highness would only become president of such an establish- ment and give me your support, a committee might be organised who would carry the project out." The Prince responded graciously and acted prompt- ly, obtaining the sanction of his mother, the Queen, HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 139 and becoming president of the committee, of which the distinguished sculptor, Lord Ronald Gower, was secretary. Among the members of the committee were the Duke of Westminster, Sir Richard Wallace, Mr. Cunliffe Owen, director of the South Kensing- ton Museum, the Duke of Leinster, the Marquis of Bute, the Duchess of Cleveland. A small house was leased at Windsor on the other side of the Long Walk, and at the end of two years, eight looms were in operation (See page 106 of the Art Journal for 1878). For a series of panels picturing the Story of the Merry Wives of Windsor, the Windsor Works received a gold medal at the Paris Exposition of 1878. Among the first tapestries woven at Windsor were a sofa covering for Queen Victoria; the Start for the Hunt, the Boar Hunt, the Finish of the Hunt; the Battle of Aylesford A.D. 455. Other tapestries woven at Windsor were the Four Seasons; a set of the Morte d 'Arthur; Views of the Royal Residences, Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace, Balmoral Castle, Osborne House; four for the corporation of London entitled a Tournament on London Bridge, Queen Elizabeth Opening the Royal Exchange, the City Champion receiving the Banner of the City on the steps of Old St. Paul's, Queen Victoria visiting the Mansion House on the Occasion of her Jubilee in 1887. At the Chicago Exposition in 1893, Americans had an opportunity to see in the Art Building a number of verdure panels woven at Windsor. Why the enterprise failed to achieve a lasting 140 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN success was suggested by the late William Baum- garten in a lecture held before the Society of Anti- quarians in the Art Institute of Chicago, March 25, 1897. He said: "I had occasion in 1882 to visit the works for the purpose of inspecting the progress of the tapes- tries then being made for the hall and staircase wall frieze in the residence of Mr. C. Vanderbilt. This was intended for his new residence at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street which was then being erected, the first half of his present residence. The works were located in an old roomy country house surrounded with a large garden, shaded by vines and large trees, and the looms were distributed over the various rooms "The works were managed by two different councils — the Council of Patrons under the presi- dency of Prince Leopold, and the Council of Artists, five in number, under the presidency of Mr. Henry. The duties of the Council of Patrons seem to have been chiefly to constantly provide funds for carrying on the works, and eventually to take a large part of the product at enormous prices. The Council of Artists held monthly meetings, discussing the weal and woe of the new industry, drawing large salaries and awarding to themselves the painting of the cartoons, at large compensations. "Of course the result was that the productions became so high that the prices charged the noble clients and patrons were out of all proportion to their value, and while they allowed themselves to HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 141 be victimised for a few years in the interest of national glory and in belief that, after a fair start things would mend in the way of economy, they at last became aware of the utter inability of the management to make the work self-supporting and virtually ceased their contributions from the Queen down, and the collapse was the immediate result. This occurred in 1887, after an existence of a little over ten years." That Ireland had a tapestry factory in the XVII century is proved by the petition in 1689 of John Lovett, late of Dublin, who stated that he had been forced by troubles out of Ireland and brought with him thirty-eight pieces of tapestries hangings "of their Majesties Manufacture of Ireland containing 767^ ells." OTHER ENGLISH LOOMS During the XIV, XV, XVI centuries, tapestry weaving in England was not an important industry. The English were content, with a few sporadic ex- ceptions, to ship wool to Flanders and get back arras (tapestry), in exchange. And what tapestries were woven in England, we may feel quite sure were woven by Flemish weavers. The frequent occur- rence of the word tapissier in early documents proves nothing, for it denotes not only tapestry weavers but also weavers of rugs and carpets, and draperies not tapestries, and the upholsterers who kept local wardrobes in repair. The term "weaver of arras," 142 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN as employed in Edinburgh in 1467 to designate John Dolace who, until i486, received a regular annuity, is more significant. In 1561 the municipal authorities of Sandwich sent to Secretary Cecil as a present, six arras cushions, the "first work of the strangers in town," Flemish weavers who had emigrated because of religious persecution. That a tapestry factory was established in England about the middle of the XVI century, at least one tapestry remains to prove. This was illustrated in colour in the Art Journal for November, 191 1, and described by Mr. Thomson in the Art Journal for July, 191 1. In the centre is the coat of arms of William, First Earl of Pembroke (1 501-1570). On the right, a small circular panel picturing Luxuria, one of the seven deadly sins; on the left, Superbia. The ground and main part of the tapestry that is 7 feet 8 by 13, is covered with quaint designs in the Grotesque style that Raphael and his followers copied from ancient unburied Rome, and that is incorrectly called Arabesque. The Grotesque de- signs in this tapestry are rich with all the exuberance of the Italian Renaissance. It was woven about 1565 at Barcheston by Richard Hyckes, who had recently established a tapestry plant there and at Weston, under the patronage of, and with financial backing from, an English country squire, William Sheldon. It was at his instigation that Hyckes had visited the Nether- lands to study the weaving of tapestry, and doubtless bring back with him Flemish weavers. Squire HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 143 Sheldon was anxious that his son should continue to foster the infant industry, because it supplied a trade to train youths in and was a means of retaining great sums of money within the kingdom. His words were listened to, for in 1592, twenty- two years after Squire Sheldon's death, "Bess of Hard- wycke," Countess of Shrewsbury, paid Mr. Sheldon's man for "seventene armses to set upon hangings XXXs. iiijd." and also ten shillings to hang the tapestries. In the Bodleian Library at Oxford University are preserved two large fragments of tapestry maps, one of which is signed WIGORN. COMI. COM- PLETATA RIC. HYCKE which filled out and translated means: Warwickshire (the county of Warwick) executed by Richard Hyckes. Below the signature that is on a ribbon half-way up on the left side of the tapestry is a compass and a scale of miles, three to the inch. The various towns, villages, churches, manor-houses and bridges are shown on the map after the manner of a birdseye view, and accurately. The second Bodleian tapestry map shows the valley of the Thames and the counties of Oxford and Berks. Especially interesting is the Thames from London Bridge to Brentford, showing Westminster Palace, Hampstead Heath with its three windmills, etc. The borders of both maps are definitely Italian Renaissance in style like that of the Pembroke Grotesque tapestry. Much later in date as the borders show — borders woven in imitation of heavy wooden frames, with a 144 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Cupid-borne cartouche above containing a blue oval, and a cartouche below containing a tiny land- scape with the goddess Ceres recumbent in the foreground — are the three tapestry maps pre- served in the Museum of the Philosophical Society at York. One of them is signed by Francis Hickes, OXONII ET BERCHERIAE COMITATUS COMPLETATA PER FRANCISCUM HICKES. The panel is 13 feet by 17 feet 9 inside of the border that is 20 inches wide. It bears the coat of arms of Ralph Sheldon, born in 1623 and died in 1684. Among other tapestries attributed to the Sheldon factory is the magnificent set of the Seasons at Hatfield House. One of them, Winter, was illustrated in half-tone in the Art Journal for August, 191 1. All the four tapestries bear the coat of arms of Sir John Tracey of Doddington in Gloucestershire, who was knighted by James I, appointed High Steward in 1609, and became Viscount Tracey in 1642. The style of the tapestries and borders is pronouncedly Renaissance — luxuriant floral and fruit ornament. The borders are filled with a wealth of small round medallions that illustrate Latin captions placed above or below each. Three signs of the Zodiac also in small round medallions appear in the body of each tapestry at the top. The colours are strong and fresh, and the texture is fine. The composition of the four tapestries is similar — a large central figure, iEolus for Winter, Venus for Spring, Ceres for Summer, Bacchus for Autumn. ^Eolus in Winter is a majestic almost nude figure HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 145 seated on the four winds, crowned and holding a bridle. On the left an ox is being slaughtered, on the right a pig. In the background on the right ships struggling in a Wintry sea, on the left dogs and men hunting. In one of the borders, appended to a Latin caption, appears the date 1611. Mr. Thomson suggests that there is "reason to believe" the fine set of four tapestries in Holyrood Palace, picturing Children Playing after Giulio Romano, came from the Sheldon looms. Under the name of the Naked Boys this was a favourite set at Mortlake. But the almost complete simi- larity of the borders of the Holyrood tapestries with the borders of the York maps mentioned above, suggests a common origin. These borders are certainly as late as the last half of the XVII century. In the latter part of the XVII century some of the Mortlake workmen appear to have set up for themselves on a small scale. In 1670 through the influence of Sir Sackville Crow, William Benood, tapissier of Lambeth, secured an order from the Countess of Rutland for six pieces of Vulcan and Venus tapestry 9 feet deep at 25s. an ell. The set was as follows: Mars, Venus, and Apollo, 12 feet long. Vulcan and the Gods, 10 feet long. Neptune and Vulcan, 8 feet 9 inches long. Vulcan drawing the Net, 8 feet 6 inches long. Vulcan forging, 8 feet 6 inches long. Vulcan and Cupid, 8 feet 3 inches long. 146 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN These tapestries were without borders and were in sizes calculated from the wall spaces in the Countess's new dining-room — shorter and much narrower than the Vulcan and Venus tapestries woven for Charles I at Mortlake. These Lambeth tapestries are now in Haddon Hall. In 1676 the King paid Thomas Poyntz, who in 1667, had joined Francus Poyntz in a memorial to the King on the revival of tapestry weaving, £451 18s. 4d., for eight pieces of tapestry at 27s. 6d. per ell. Ten years later he received £8 10s. per ell for three unusually fine tapestries enriched with gold to decorate the Queen's chamber at Windsor Castle. The subject was the Months. A panel representing November and December, part of a set formerly in Houghton and signed by Thomas Poyntz, was sold in London in 1802. Thomas Poyntz also wove four fine pieces at £8 per ell (142^ ells), for the Queen's bedchamber in White- hall. After 1689, when John Vanderbank became manager (yeoman arras-maker), of the King's Great Wardrobe, Great Queen Street in Soho seems to have become the centre of tapestry production. So famous was he by 17 18 that the Tatler says that "no person ever represented Nature more happily in works of Tapestry." At Glenham Hall there are four Indo-Chinese tapestries woven by him, that were formerly the property of Elihu Yale, founder of Yale College. The designs like that of plate 147, and like two at Belton signed by Vander- B U a j= 01 O to ~& « |x B ^ <* M 0) w a w Bfl a fi M H a < 1) _ o. c ■t XI «- 148 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN bank, resemble those of contemporary lacquer work from which they were probably adapted. Vander- bank also wove the Elements, after Lebrun, for several patrons. Three pieces bearing the arms of John, fifth Earl of Exeter (i 678-1 760), at Burley House are signed J. V. D. B., the initials of John Vanderbank. Vanderbank wove a number of tapes- tries for the Crown in addition to keeping the Crown tapestries in repair, and was active until 1727, when he was succeeded by Moses Vanderbank. About Stephen Demay we know from the corre- spondence and accounts preserved at Burley-on-the- Hill, a mansion built by Daniel Finch, second Earl of Nottingham, in the reign of William and Mary. The documents date from the years 1 700-1 708, and I am indebted for my facts about them to an article by Pearl Finch in the Connoisseur, that contains half-tone illustrations of two of the four Hero and Leander, and two of the nine Acts of the Apostles tapestries, woven by Demay for the noble Earl. The two Hero and Leander panels are the same pictures as, and undoubtedly copies of, Cleyn's original cartoons mentioned earlier in the chapter, from which was woven for King Charles I by Philip de Maecht the set enriched with gold and silver that is now in the Royal Swedish Collection (4^ pieces out of 6). The borders of the Nottingham copies are much narrower and less interesting than those of the original set, and of course contain the Nottingham instead of the Royal arms. Miss Finch thinks that the set cost from £300 to £400. HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 149 The set was recently repaired and restored, and there is a similar set in the possession of Lord Newton of Lyme. The Earl of Nottingham's ac- count book shows under date of 1704, a small pen- and-ink sketch and in his own handwriting: "The Great Sweemer, 9 ft. 9 in.; The Temple, a great piece reduced conveniently to the dimensions, 9 ft. 9 in.; Hero and Leander, both dead, 15 ft. 10 in.; Father, Son, and Ship, 15 ft. 10 in.; The Depth — the first peece to have both borders — the second only ye right hand border, the third only ye left hand border, the fourth to have both borders." Again in 1708: "The peece of the Ship contaign- ing twenty-two ells, a quarter & half a quarter, the peece of the Sweemer, twenty-one ells, three-quarters & a half. The peece of the Dead contaigning thirty-five ells. The ship, 35. The Temple, 22)4. The Sweemer, 21^. The Dead, 35. Total, 114^. The goeing, £0 17 06. The Canvas, £1 08 00. Total, £2 05 06. For box & Carriche backward & forward, £0 09 00. Total £2 14 06." And earlier: "Paid Mr. Demay ye Tapestry Maker more on account of ye Leander Hangings, £50." "Mr. Demay ye Tapestry maker on account, £100." "Paid Mr. Demay in full for the Hero & Leandre, £30." Lord Nottingham's Acts of the Apostles were the same pictures as those woven at Mortlake from the Raphael cartoons now at the Victoria and Albert Museum, except that Christ's Charge to Peter was woven in two pieces with the figure of the Good 150 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Shepherd in a panel by itself; and the Death of Sapphira was added, perhaps designed especially for Lord Nottingham. The borders are distinctly Late XVII century in style and much inferior to the ones used at Mortlake. They show the Notting- ham coat of arms in top border, and the side borders are marble columns. The account book gives the combined width of the nine pieces as 142 feet 7 inches and: " Paid Mr. Demay in full for nine pieces of Apostle Hangings, £700; paid Mr. Demay for twenty-nine ells added to the Apostles Hangings in full of all demands, £58. Total £758." Very interesting is Demay's letter to Lord Not- tingham on the completion of the cartoons: "My Lord, — I make bold to acquaint your Lord- ship that ye cartoons are done according to your Lordship's dimensions. If his Lordship would be pleased to send me how I must start them down and shall follow your Lordship's order accordingly. I have got ye scratches of ye fine French roles, and if your Ldsp. will be pleased to have them sent down with ye hangings it shall be done. The piece of ye Blind, three additions to four ells and half a quarter, the addition of Paul preaching comes to eleven ells a quarter and half a quarter, the addition of ye piece of sacrifice comes to thirteen ells and three- quarters, in all twenty-nine ells one quarter, at two pounds per ell comes to fifty-eight pounds ten shillings for fourteen days of three men's labour, or joining them at two shillings a day per man four pounds, HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 151 wch in all comes to sixty-two pounds fourteen which with ye fore bill, comes to £42 14s., wch I beg ye favour of your Lordship to be so kind as to send it to me, I being in soe great want of it that I am forced to send mans away for want of money, therefore I hope your Lordship will have pitty upon me. . . . I am with great respect to your Lordship. "Your most humble and most obedient servant to command, "STEEVEN DEMAY." Also interesting is Lord Nottingham's letter to Demay dated August 23, 1700: "These three pieces following must be enlarged in which care must be taken first that the Coat of Arms in ye upper border and ye blank space in ye bottom border be placed in ye middle of each piece when enlarged to ye following dimensions, herein- after directed, and in this case either add all yt is wanting to make up, the dimensions to one side of ye piece of hangings, or part of one side and ye rest on ye other, according as you find best, taking ye border part of ye cartoon, which is not yet in ye hangings to ye dimensions required, choose out of ye other cartoons such figures as will best quit with ye piece which is to be enlarged, and to the piece of the Sacrifice sow on a piece of girt web one half loose hanging to ye middle in ye corner of ye room at ye distance from ye left hand." Other XVIII century tapestry works in England were those of Peter Parisot at Fulham, and of Paul 152 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Saunders at Soho. The Fulham works had a life of only five years in spite of the backing of the Duke of Cumberland. The catalogue of the closing out sale in 1755 shows rugs in savonnerie weave, and tapestry furniture coverings and screen panels, but no important wall hangings. Paul Saunders merits more attention. His work reminds one of that of his Brussels contemporary Daniel Leyniers. A set in the possession of the Duke of Cumberland, land- scape compositions with ruined temples and peasants, is signed P. Saunders Soho, 1758. Other charac- teristic tapestries by him show a laden camel with attendant bearing a lance, a horse with pink drapery and a man wearing a turban, two women playing dice. From 1760 to 1770 Saunders did important work altering and repairing the tapestries of the Great Wardrobe. The English XVIII century weaver named Bradshaw, we know from his signa- ture on a sofa at Belton House — illustrated in colour in the Art Journal for October, 191 1, and described by Mr. Francis Lenygon — and from two overdoor pieces picturing Venus, Vulcan and Cupid, made for Holkham House. idUUlllIUlU! CHAPTER VI French Looms The Gobelins: Beauvais: Aubusson For two and a half centuries the name most famous in tapestry weaving has been the Gobelins; since September, 1667, when Colbert, as it is put in French by the inscription on the right of the entrance gate, "established in the buildings of the Gobelins the furniture factory of the Crown under the direction of Charles Lebrun." But the_ French, not satisfied with the glories of the Gobelins and with their undoubted right to share in the early tapestry glories of Arras and the French Netherlands — especially before 1477, when the French Netherlands passed by inheritance from Burgundian to Imperial and Spanish control — are always endeavouring to prove that Paris and other French cities far from the Flemish frontier, excelled in the art of tapestry weaving centuries before 1667. The pre-eminence of one Paris maker — Nicolas Bataille — at the end of the XIV century M. Guiffrey has established (See my chapter on Gothic Tapes- tries). That Gothic tapestries were woven in other parts of France sporadically is also certain. But that France was a serious rival or indeed a rival at 153 154 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN all of Flanders in tapestry weaving in the XV and XVI centuries is not worthy of discussion. About 1535 Francois I installed weavers at Fontainebleau under the management of the Treas- urer of France, Philibert Babou, and under the artistic direction of the celebrated Italian architect Sebastien Serlio. The cartoons are said to have been supplied by Primaticcio who was in the service of Francois, and by his assistant, Matteo del Nassaro of Verona. We know that Primaticcio made the designs for a Scipio series of tapestries, and on the King's order carried them to Flanders in 1534 to have them woven there. The Fontainebleau tapes- try plant is said to have continued active under Philibert Delorme, during part of the reign of Henri II. To Delorme are attributed four pieces pictur- ing the Story of Diana now in the Chateau d'Anet. The borders are particularly rich and ingenious and distinctly French. When Henri II resumed his residence in Paris, he interested himself in tapestry weaving there, and on September 12, 1551, Parliament confirmed, the royal letter establishing a tapestry school for orphans in the Hopital de la Trinite, Rue Saint-Denis. In this establishment Henri's queen Catherine de Medi- cis was also intereste^TTespecially after the King's death, when she had the celebrated Story of Mausolus and Artemisia, symbolic of her own life-story, woven into tapestry on the Trinite looms, after designs by Henri Lerambert and Antoine Caron. The series was immensely popular and was repeated many 156 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN times. In 1627 the French Royal Collection con- tained 79 of these tapestries in 20 sets, to-day 27 in 4 sets. Another Trinite set was the Life of Christ woven for the Church of Saint-Merri by one of the orphan apprentices, Maurice Dubourg. The con- tract bears the date 1584 and is preserved in the Musee Carnavalet. Of the set only two fragments now remain, a head of Christ at the Gobelins and of Saint Peter at the Cluny. A set picturing the Story of Saint Crispin and Saint Crispinian was presented to the Cathedral Notre Dame de Paris by the shoemakers of the city. One of the pieces bearing the date 1635 is now in the museum at the Gobelins. In 1607 we find that the Maurice Dubourg men- tioned above had left the Trinite and was associated with Henri Laurent at the Louvre in weaving tapes- tries for the king Henri IV. Among tapestries attributed to them by the Louis XIV Inventory, are those designed by Simon Vouet, on Old Testament subjects such as Moses Saved from the Waters, and the Daughters of Jeptha, splendid examples of which are in the French National Collection. Others that have been preserved are the Sacrifice of Abraham, the Translation of Elijah, Samson at the Feast of the Philistines. The borders are sumptuous and resemble the Mortlake ones to the Acts of the Apostles. The Gobelins is a most interesting place, open to visitors on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons from 1 to 3. The trip is an easy one by street car iitUliJHIUlUI HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 157 or motor bus from the Halles across to the left bank of the Seine and out the Avenue des Gobelins. The entrance to the courtyard of the establishment with LES GOBELINS on the gate beneath RF is simple but impressive. On each side of the gate are tablets bearing inscriptions. The one on the left shows where the works got the name: "Jean and Philibert Gobelin, merchant dyers of scarlet, who have left their name to this quarter of Paris and to the tapestry factory, had their works here at the end of the XV century." Jean Gobelin, it may be added, settled there about 1440. He left a large family. His descendants prospered, and from dyers finally became financiers, two of them at the end of the XVI century acting as first presidents of the Chamber of Accounts, and another acquiring the title of Marquis of Brunvillers. By the beginning of the XVII century, dyeing was an industry beneath the dignity of the family of the Gobelins, and they were glad to dispose of the property. But the name remained and attached itself to the tapestry industry, established here by Comans and Planche in 1601, to such an extent, that in Germany gobelin still is, and elsewhere for a time was, the name for any picture tapestry, even one woven in Flanders long before Jean Gobelin settled on the banks of the Bievre. Part of the inscription on the right of the entrance gate of the Gobelins has already been quoted. The rest reads: "Agril, 1601, Marc de Comans and Francois de la Planche, Flemish tapestry weavers, 158 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN instal their workrooms on the banks of the Bievre." The Bievre is the little stream in the rear, now covered and no longer used, that was greatly cher- ished by dyers of red in ancient days, because of the special virtues that made its water suitable for their purpose. Frans Van Den Planken (the Flemish form of the name), came from Audenarde, Marc de Comans from Brussels. Both claimed to be gentle- men by birth and were very scrupulous about signing themselves as such in commercial documents and papers. Although their partnership was formed and be- came active in January, 1601, for the manufacture of tapestries and other commercial operations in France, such as draining the marshes of Charentes, shipping wheat to the Knights of Malta, manufac- turing soap, etc., the Royal Edict of Henri IV officially incorporating the business, and granting it large subventions and important privileges while imposing on it heavy burdens like the training of apprentices and the opening of tapestry works in the provinces, is dated 1607. This is the edict, a copy of which helped the English organise the works at Mortlake. As might be expected from the fact that Philip de Maecht signed his monogram to tapestries at both establishments, these early Gobelin tapestries resem- ble the Mortlake ones in many respects, particularly in the rich woven frames. That the enterprise prospered is proved by correspondence discovered in the archives of the Barberini family. That the HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 159 greatest painters were employed, by a letter dated February 26, 1626, from Rubens dunning M. Valaves for the money due on the designs for the Story of Constantine. In the inventory of the property of Francois de la Planche made on his death in 1627, these designs are described as: "Douze petits desseins peints en huille sur des planches de bois, de la main de Pierre-Paul Rubens, representant l'Histoire de Constantin." These de- signs were woven again and again and there are several examples of each in the French National Collection (See plate no. 331). After the death of Planche, Comans and his sons continued in business at the Gobelins, but Planche's son, Raphael, drew out his interest and founded a rival establishment in the Faubourg Saint Germain on the Rue de La Chaise. The repertoire of his establishment included, as shown in the inventory made on the death of his wife in 1661, Ambroise Dubois's Story of Clorinda, and Theagenes and Charicles, both from the decorations of Fontaine- bleau; the Story of Achilles in eight scenes by Pere Luc Recollet, the Story of Dido and ^Eneas in eight scenes, the Stories of Psyche, Roland, Diana, Constantine (the set by Rubens mentioned above), Daphne; the Four Seasons, the Horse Pegasus. Among sets woven before the split between Planche and the Comans, was the Story of Diana in eight scenes. There are identical sets in both Paris and Vienna. The set in the Royal Spanish Collection has different borders. Another popular set was the 160 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Story of Gombaut and Mace. One piece bearing the Paris mark — a P with fleur-de-lis — and the monogram of Francois de la Planche is in the museum of the Gobelins. In a contest instituted by Henri IV between leading painters on the subjects of Guarini's Pastor Fido, Laurence Guyot won. Of the set woven from the designs, M. Guiffrey identified one piece in the residence of the late Don Francisco d'Assisi, grandfather of the King of Spain. The Story of France, described in the 1627 inventory mentioned above, pictured the Siege of Tunis by Saint Louis, the Baptism of Clovis, Charlemagne at Pampeluna, the Battle of Marignan, etc. Of this, and the Story of King Francois in eight pieces, no examples remain. Another tapestry works was that established at Maincy near his wonderful estate Vaux-le-Vicomte by Louis XIV's Minister of Finance, Foucquet. The weavers were Flemish under a French overseer Louis Blamard. The artistic director was the painter Charles Lebrun, who had general charge of the decorations of Foucquet's chateau. Two of the most beautiful sets ever composed were by Lebrun for Vaux, the Story of Constantine, and the Hunts of Meleager and Atalanta, the weaving of which began at Maincy but was finished at the Gobelins. Other pieces composed by him for Vaux were the Muses, the portieres of the Fames, Mars, the Triumphal Car — often repeated at the Gobelins. The Manufacture Royale des Meubles de la Couronne formally established at the Gobelins by GOMBAUT AND MACE PLATE no. 161. Scene from the Story of Gombaut and Mace\ an Early XVII century tapestry signed with the Brussels mark. Peasant scenes like those pictured in the Wood Cutters at the Muse'e des Arts De'coratifs, and Sheep Shearing at the Brussels Museum, were popular in tapestry from the earliest period. In the second half of the XV century appears the story of Gombaut and Mace" that makes pass successively under our eyes the adventures, amuse- ments, joys, toils, trouble, and miseries, of the peasant's life. In his study on the 7 pieces picturing this story in the set of the Saint L6 Museum, published in Paris in 1881, M. Jules Guiffrey reproduces 8 Late XVI century engravings with descriptive verses in French, undoubtedly the same or similar to designs then being reproduced in tapestry. Some of the verses and some of the pictures contain a good deal of the " esprit gaulois." 162 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN royal decree in 1667, with Charles Lebrun as art director, was not merely a tapestry factory. It was a general furniture factory as the word meubles suggests — a factory for the preparation of the various kinds of interior decorations and furnishings needed for the royal residences of Louis XIV. To-day the activities of the Gobelins are confined to tapestries and savonnerie rugs. The tapestry part of the plant was not created new or imported from Flanders. It was a combina- tion of the various tapestry works described above — those of Planche and the Comans, of the Trinite and the Louvre, and of Maincy, from which, after the fall and disgrace of Foucquet, came Lebrun to satisfy Louis XIV's desire to emulate the example of decorative magnificence set by his financial minister. The preliminaries took some time. In 1662 Louis XIV bought the Gobelin property. In the succeeding five years he added to it and erected buildings to accommodate the new royal enterprise. The different tapestry plants were assembled there by degrees. The first heads of the high warp shops were Jean Jans, the father, 1662-1668; Henri Laurent (from the Louvre), 1 662-1 669; Jean Le- fevre, 1 662-1 700, the elder but son of the Pierre Lefevre, director of the tapestry works in Florence, who in 1647 had been called back to Paris to reor- ganise the looms there for Mazarin. When Laurent died in 1669, his shop was dis- continued. The shop of Jans, who came originally HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 163 from Audenarde, was continued by his son of the same name, 1668-1723; by Jean-Jacques Jans, 1723- 1731; by Michel Audran, 1 732-1 771; by Jean Audran, 1 771-1794. After t he Revolution, day work having been substituted for piece work, the identity of the contractors is of less importance. The shop of Lefevre was continued by his son of the same name, 1699-1736; by Mathieu Monmerque, 1736- 1749; by Pierre-Francois Cozette, 1 749-1 794. The first low warp shop organised under the management of Jean Delacroix 1662-17 12, was in 1 7 12 merged with the one organised by Jean- Baptiste Mozin 1667-1693, and continued by Dom- inique Delacroix 1693-1737. Another shop united to that of Delacroix in 1724, was that of Souet and Delafraye, 1 693-1 699, continued by Jean Souet, 1699-1724. The shop organised by Jean Delafraye, 1 699-1 730, continued by Mathieu Monmerque, 1 730-1 735, and by Pierre, Francois Cozette, 1735- 1749, in 1737 absorbed that of Delacroix. In 1749, Cozette transferred his efforts from low warp to high warp looms and, as shown above, assumed charge of the old Lefevre high warp shop. Jacques Neilson, 1 749-1 788, took his place in the low warp shop and two years later, in 1751, absorbed the shop founded by Etienne Leblond, 1701-1727, and continued by Etienne-Claude Leblond, 1 727-1 751. Neilson was succeeded by Michel-Henry Cozette,. 1 788-1 794. These are the men directly responsible for the execu- tion of the work at the Gobelins, and their names are signed (See chapter IX) to many of the tapestries. 164 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN The organisation of the Gobelins, from 1662 to 1667, owed everything to the energetic care and forethought of Louis XIV's great minister Colbert. He was the moving spirit behind it all, and he saw that the sinews of art in the form of money were not lacking. The workmen received quarters on the premises, together with a small garden, that is still one of the attractions tending to reconcile them to small wages. The different shop managers worked each on his own account. The Crown supplied them with wools, silks, gold and silver tinsel, the cost of which is retained out of the fin- ished tapestries paid for at a rate fixed in advance. The shop managers were not, however, restricted to work for the Crown. They were allowed to accept commissions from dealers and from individ- uals. They paid their men by the piece at a rate varying for the different portions of a tapestry, according to the difficulty of weaving and the skill required. For the supplying of new tapestry designs, Charles Lebrun had many capable assistants, at the head Adam Francois Vandermeulen who entered the service of Louis XIV in 1664 and remained there until his death in 1691. A memorandum, dated 1 69 1, gives us the details of the collaboration on the Royal Residences: "M. Yvart the father painted most of the large figures, the rugs and the draperies; M. Baptiste (Monnoyer) the flowers and fruits; the late M. Boulle the animals and the birds; M. Anguier the architecture; the late M. Vandermeulen 166 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN the small figures and part of the landscapes; MM. Genouels and Baudoin the rest of the landscapes." But no matter how many assistants Lebrun employed he was always master and the inspiration and style were always personally his own. The studies of these artists are preserved in the Museum of Versailles. The Royal Residences show the 12 palaces that the King liked best, used to background hunting scenes, promenades, cavalcades, balls — scenes appropriate to the time of year — framed on each side by columns of pilasters, while in the foreground, valets in the royal livery spread rich stuffs over the balustrades. During the King's life it was rewoven at the Gobelins more often than any other set. It appears in the Louis XIV Inventory ten times, in 88 pieces — seven complete sets with some to spare. The palaces pictured are the Louvre, the Palais-Royal, Madrid, Versailles, Saint- Germain, Fontainebleau, Vincennes, Marimont, Chambord, the Tuileries, Blois, Monceaux. The Elements and the Seasons, each in four pieces, take one back to the days of Comans, Planche, and Mortlake, or even earlier. The woven frames are sumptuous and there are Latin captions with allegorical emblems in the Renaissance fashion. The Elements in four pieces with four narrow panels (entrefenetres) to match was especially successful, being reproduced six times at the Gobelins in the XVII century and often at Brussels Aubusson, and Felletin (See plate no. 165). The Child Gardeners, in six pieces, is in an entirely 168 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN different spirit, light and gay and full of the fascina- tions of out-of-doors" ancf of children. This was a very popular set and in twenty years it was woven complete five times on low warp looms. Of course, the greatest series of all, and the one that first suggests itself to all who know about Gobelin tapes- tries, is the Story of the King. Here we find the solemn and official glorification of all of the important events of the life of Louis XIV during the first twelve years of his reign. Arranged in chronological order they are: i Coronation of Louis XIV in the Cathedral of Reims, June 7, 1654. 2 Interview of Louis XIV and Philip IV of Spain at the Isle des Faisans, June 7, 1660. 3 Marriage of Louis XIV with Marie-Therese of Austria, eldest daughter of Philip IV, June 9, 1660. 4 Satisfaction given to the King by the Spanish Ambassa- dor, March 24, 1662. 5 Entry of the King into Dunkerque after having recovered it from the English, Dec. 2, 1662. 6 Reduction of the city of Marsal in Lorraine, Sept. 1 . 1663. 7 Renewal of the Alliance between France and the Swiss, at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, Nov. 18, 1663. 8 Audience given by the King at Fontainebleau to the Pope's Legate Cardinal Chigi, July 29, 1664. 9 Siege of Tournai where Louis XIV exposed himself to the enemy's fire, June 21, 1667. 10 Siege of Douai in July, 1667. The King in danger. 11 Capture of Lille in August, 1667. 12 Defeat of the Spanish under Count Marsin near Bruges, August 31, 1667. IU11JHIUIUM 170 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN 13 Visit of Louis XIV to the Gobelins with Colbert, Oct. 15, 1667. 14 Capture of Dole, Feb. 16, 1668, the King commanding in person. By the end of the year 1662, Lebrun was at work on the designs for the Story of the King. Vander- meulen, who had a salary of 6,000 livres a year and apartments at the Gobelins, was given the land- scapes and views of cities to prepare and accom- panied the King on his campaigns. The high warp cartoons were executed by Yvart the elder, Mathieu the elder, De Seve the younger, and Testelin. The first pieces were put on the looms in 1665 in the shops of Jans, Lefevre, and Laurent. The differ- ent pieces bear descriptive captions in French in a cartouche in the middle of the lower borders. They also show the date when the weaving of the piece began, in the left border, and when it was completed, in the right border. For instance, in the Coronation of Louis XIV, we find on the left LVDvs XIIII and under it ANo. 1665; on the right the name repeated and under it ANo. 1671. The average time of weaving was about five years each. This first set was the only complete one ever made on high warp looms at the Gobelins. It comprised 14 pieces 4^ aunes (French ell equals 46^ inches) high, with a combined width of 88^" aunes — about 17 feet by 354. It cost 166,698 livres to weave and is rich with gold. The complete set is still preserved and forms a part of the French National Collection, HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 171 one piece being exhibited at the Gobelins and three at Fontainebleau. There were three complete sets woven on the low warp looms of the Gobelins, all with gold, one 1665-1680, one 1707-1715, one 1729-1735, besides miscellaneous pieces. The low warp sets were only three-quarters as high as the high warp sets, and narrower in proportion. The Story of Alexander was in special favour at the Court on account of the ^direct allusions found in it to the principal events in the life of Louis XIV. It was reproduced eight times at the Gobelins during his reign and often in Brussels, Audenarde, and Aubusson. Lebrun painted the five pictures entirely with his own hands, one of them, the Family of Darius at Alexander's Feet, at Fontainebleau in the presence of the King himself. The other scenes were the Passage of the Granicus, the Battle of Arbela, the Battle with Poms, the Triumph of Alexander. The three battle scenes were so large that no space could be found to receive them, and each was accordingly made in three separate pieces, making the total set consist of 11 pieces instead of five. As the King grew older and France less successful in war and commerce, the opportunities for glorifica- tion became fewer. The nature of the subjects chosen for tapestry changed. Instead of the Story of the King, we have the Story of Moses in ten pieces, 8 after Poussin, 2 after Lebrun. Even before this, ancient models had been reproduced, 172 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN notably Raphael's famous Acts of the Apostles. But now there was a distinct movement backwards, away from contemporary history to Biblical and Greek and Roman, and to the reproduction of XVI century cartoons. Among the various sets were the Chambers of the Vatican copied after Raphael's paintings there, the Sujets de la Fable after Giulio Romano, the Sujets de la Fable after Raphael, the Fruits of War after Giulio Romano, the Story of Scipio after Giulio Romano, the Hunts of Maximilian after Barend Van Orley, the Arabesque Months, the Months of Lucas, the Triumphs of the Gods after Noel Coypel, the Gallery of Saint-Cloud after Pierre Mignard, the Indies. The subjects of the ten pieces of the Chambers of the Vatican are: of three, the Battle of Constan- tine against Maxentius; the Vision of Constantine, the School of Athens, the Pope's Mass, Attila Driven from Rome, Parnassus, Heliodorus Driven from the Temple, Burning of the City of Rome. The Sujets de la Fable (classic stories) in eight pieces after Giulio Romano tell the Story of Psyche and are also called the Amours de Psyche. The Sujets de la Fable after Raphael, also in eight pieces, are the Judgment of Paris, the Elopement of Helen, the Marriage of Alexander and Roxane, the Marriage of Cupid and Psyche, Venus and Adonis, Venus in her Car, two nymph-and-satyr dances. The Fruits of War in eight pieces, was copied from a Brussels XVI century set in the Royal Collection. Later, HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 173 in the time of Louis XVI, the French Crown acquired three of Giulio Romano's original cartoons that had been preserved in the Duke of Mantua's palace until 1830, when it was raided by the Imperial troops. The Story of Scipio in ten pieces, the Hunts cf Maxi- milian in twelve pieces (one for each month in the year), the Arabesque Months, the Months of Lucas were also copied from precious old Brussels tapes- tries in the Royal Collection. The Old Indies as they are called to distinguish them from the New Indies designed by Desportes in the XVIII century, were taken from eight paint- ings that had been presented to the King by the Prince of Nassau (See plate no. 333). In them are pictured in rich profusion the men, animals, plants and fruits of the Indies "painted on the spot." In token of the visits of the Russian Em- peror Peter the Great to the Gobelins, May 12 and June 15, 1717, the first high warp set of the Indies was presented to him with others. This set was used in St. Petersburg as a model in the tapestry works founded by Peter the Great (See chapter VII). In 1900, according to M. Fenaille, only a fragment of the original piece picturing Animals Fighting, remained in St. Petersburg — in the Imperial Carriage Museum. Pierre Mignard, painter of the Gallery of Saint- Cloud, succeedecT to Lebrun's position on his death in 1690, and had undermined his influence after the death of Colbert, with the support of Louvois, as far back as 1685. The six subjects from Saint- 174 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Cloud, reproduced in tapestry, were Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Parnassus, Latona (See plate no. 357). The set is very attractive. At least seven of the eight pieces of the Triumphs of the Gods were copied by Noel Coypel from old Brussels tapestries called, on the book of Gobelins, "Rabesques de Raphael." Certainly several of the smaller figures are the same as those in the decora- tions of the Loggie of the Vatican and in the borders of the original XVI century sets of the Acts of the Apostles tapestries. Among the most successful of the new sets, after the period of stagnation at the Gobelins from 1694 to 1697, due to lack of money in the Royal Purse, were the Four Seasons and the Four Elements (the Portieres of the Gods), b_y_ Claude Audran the younger. These panels are in the Grotesque style of the Arabesque Months and the Triumphs of the Gods, but made thoroughly French and fascinating to a degree. Spring is typified by Venus, Summer by Ceres, Autumn by Bacchus, Winter by Saturn, Air by Juno, Earth by Diana, Water by Neptune, Fire by Jupiter. There is a perfect set of the Four Elements in at least one New York residence. These Portieres of the Gods were woven over and over again in the XVIII century, and finally in 1771 , Jacques Neilson, who had been so successful with the crimson damasse ground for the Don Quixote series, applied it also to this series, and with equal success. Among tapestries copied and remodelled by differ- ent painters from old XVI century designs were UIBUtlHJII PLATE no. 175. Diana, a Grotesque panel after Claude Audran, designed and woven at the beginning of the XVIII century. It is one of the four portieres symbolizing the Elements: Diana Earth, Neptune Water, Juno Air, Jupiter Fire. The example illustrated is in the French National Collection, but there is at least one perfect set in a New York private collection. 176 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN those picturing Ovid's Metamorphoses — Renaud and Armide, Diana Back from the Hunt, Apollo and the Python, Argus and Mercury, Psyche and Cupid, Apollo and Hyacinth, Flora and Zephyrus, Narcissus and the nymph Echo, Venus and Adonis, Vertumnus and Pomona, Bacchus and Ariadne, Cephale and Procris. Other sets begun in the declining years of Louis XIV were the Twelve Grotesque Months after Claude Audran (in narrow vertical bands assembled into three pieces, the first three months, the next six, the last three) ; the Old Testament in eight pieces after Antoine and Charles Coypel; the New Testa- ment in eight pieces after Jean Jouvenet and Jean Restout; a new set of the Metamorphoses of Ovid in 15 pieces after different painters. Of all XVIII century Gobelin tapestries, the Don Quixote series was most admired and most repro- duced. All the 28 scenes were the work of Charles Coypel, who was barely 20 when he completed the first in 17 14 — which for a long time caused part of the credit to be given to his father Antoine. Charles Coypel added a scene a year until 1734, an< ^ finally in 1 75 1, a few years before his death, the last, Don Quixote with the Kitchen Maids. Coypel first appears to have been paid for one of his Don Quixote paintings on Oct. 1, 1716, when he received 400 livres. On Jan. 1, 171 7, he received 400 livres for a second; on March 25, 1717, 2,800 livres for 7, etc. The frames of these Don Quixote tapestries were quite as important as the pictures, and take up a HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 177 great deal more room. Indeed the pictures are but miniatures set in a decorative mat that is framed inside and outside with woven mouldings in imita- tion of wood. Of these frames, there were no less than seven different ones designed and used during the century. The first five had mosaic ornamental grounds, the others a damasse ground first employed by Neilson in 1760 on his low warp looms, in crimson tones derived from cochineal, much more durable than the yellows previously employed. One of the Don Quixote set, woven by Neilson, signed with his name and the date 1783 in the lower right-hand corner, is now in the Metropolitan Museum, lent by Mr. Morgan, having been presented by Napoleon in 1 8 10 to the Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt and ac- quired by Mr. Morgan from the estate of Don Francisco d'Assisi grandfather of the present King of Spain. Four others of the Don Quixote tapes- tries with the new damasse ground, but high warp instead of low warp, also acquired by Mr. Morgan from the estate of Don Francisco and also lent to the Metropolitan Museum, are signed, three of them Cozette 1773, and one Audran, inside the woven frame. Audran evidently having forgot the date made amends by also weaving his name with the date 1773 in red in the bottom selvage. These four high warp pieces were presented in i774> to Cardinal Charles-Antoine de la Roche-Aymon, Arch- bishop of Reims, Grand Almoner of France, who had baptised Louis XVI, given him his first communion, 178 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN and married him, and who later crowned him at Reims, June n, 1775. The subjects of these four are Don Quixote Served by the Ladies, the Peasant Girls, the Departure of Sancho, the Princess at the Hunt; of the low warp one Don Quixote Guided by Folly. All the five pieces were woven 3 aunes 2 seiziemes high which is about 4 inches more than the present height of 3.60 metres (11 feet 10 inches), thus illus- trating the fact that tapestries shrink when taken off the loom. The combined width of the five was originally 18 aunes 2^2 seiziemes (about 65 feet). All have two or three lines of caption at the bottom in golden brown, and woven gold frames around the picture, inside the damasse ground as well as around the whole. It is the triumph of ornament at the expense of picture. From 1717 to 1794, about 250 Don Quixote tapestries were woven at the Gobelins, many of the subjects being repeated many times. Upon the death of Louis XIV (king 1643-17 15), he had been succeeded by his five-year-old great- grandson, Louis XV (17 15-1774), during whose minority (17 15-1723), Philip Duke of Orleans was Regent. Compared with the age of Louis XIV, the period of the Regence and Louis XV was frivo- lous. In his youth Louis XIV adored War and Glory, in his old age Religion and the Church. The whole reign of Louis XV was above all human — petty if you will — but a reign that spread abroad among the many blessings previously confined to the few. The contrast is quickly visible not only HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 179 in the Don Quixote tapestries as compared with the Story of the King and the Royal Residences, but even in imitations of the ancient style like the Turkish Embassy in two pieces after Charles Parrocel, and the Hunts of Louis XV in nine pieces after J. B. Oudry. The first new set during the Regency had been the Story of Daphnis and Chloe in four pieces designed by the Regent himself in collaboration, some say, with Charles Coypel. An- other Regency set by Antoine and Charles Coypel, was the Iliad in five pieces. Charles Coypel's Opera Fragments in four pieces was first put on the looms in 1733. One piece was taken from Quinault's opera Rdand, the other three from his Armide. The designs in character suggest the coming of those that Boucher was to make famous at Beauvais. Other Louis XV sets were the Story of Esther in seven pieces after Jean- Francois de Troy, first put on the looms in 1737, and often repeated both with the original border and with a new border (after 1772); the New Indies, in eight pieces, after Alexandre-Francois Desportes, called new to distinguish them from the Louis XIV set named above, upon which they were based; Daphnis and Chloe in seven pieces after Etienne Jeaurat; the Arts in four pieces after Jean Restout; the Story of Mark Antony in three pieces after Charles Natoire; the Story of Jason in seven pieces after Jean-Francois de Troy; the Story of Theseus after Carle Vanloo (one piece); Stage Scenes in five pieces, from Corneille's Rodogune, Racine's 180 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Bajazet,Quinault'sAlceste, Moliere's Psiche, Racine's Athalie, all after Charles Coypel; the Loves of the Gods, twenty-two pieces of which Venus and Vulcan, Cherubs, the Genius of the Arts, were by Boucher; Turkish Costumes in three pieces after Amedee Vanloo. One of the most interesting points in the XVIII century history of the Gobelins is that about the middle of the century the three contractors there became intensely — and with justice — jealous of the Royal Works at Beauvais. In a memorial to the administration dated March 10, 1754, and signed Audran, Cozette et Neilson, they say that "to prevent the decadence of the Gobelin Factory, it would be necessary to attach to it Sr. Boucher," giving him the assistance of other painters of the Academie such as "Sieurs Dumont, Le Romain, Jeaurat, Halle, Challe, Vien." For lack of suitable designs the Gobelins cannot get private work, "and for nearly twenty years the Beauvais Factory has been kept up by the attractive paintings made for it by Sr. Boucher," while the "Srs. Charon, who are now head of the Factory, are arranging with him to compose a set of hangings to present to the King, their intention being to spare nothing to render the establishment more prosperous than ever." The response from the authorities was finally favourable when on June 6, 1.755, the Marquis de Marigny wrote to Francois Boucher appointing him to succeed J. B. Oudry just deceased, as inspector at the Gobelins. On July 3, he wrote to the three VERTUMNUS PLATE no. 181. Vertumnus and Pomona, designed for the Gobelins by Francis Boucher after he became chief inspector there. The picture is interesting to compare with the far superior Vertumnus and Pomona designed by Boucher for Beauvais, and illustrated in color as the frontispiece of this book. The ornamental frame with damasse" mat was designed by Tessier. 182 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Gobelin contractors assuring them that Boucher would co-operate with them in every way and that "M. Boucher not only has refused the inspection of the Beauvais Factory with the intention of giving his attention to the Gobelins, but he has even re- fused an interest that the Beauvais directors wished to give him in their enterprise." Already Boucher had executed for the Gobelins the Rising of the Sun and the Setting of the Sun, and a series of twenty paintings for Madame de Pompadour's chair coverings. The subjects of the most important ones executed by him after he became chief inspector are, in addition to the three in the Loves of the Gods series named above: Ver- tumnus and Pomona, Aurora and Cephalus, Neptune and Amymone, Venus at the Forge of Vulcan, Venus Leaving the Water, Fishing, the Fortune Teller, Jupiter and Calisto, Psyche Looking at Cupid Asleep, and four that tell the story of Amintas and Sylvia. Like the Don Quixote series of Charles Coypel, these were reproduced small with wide damasse mats between inner and outer woven mouldings. The frames were by Jacques and Tessier. During the XVIII century the Gobelin contractors executed many portraits in tapestry, for individuals, that did not appear on the official books. The first portrait that appears on the accounts of Au- dran's shop is the life-size, full length one of Louis XV standing, after Louis Michel Vanloo. For weaving that portrait Audran wanted to be paid 10,000 livres, but was obliged to accept 7,252 livres. ilU««:h!H!ii! 184 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN The portrait contained 192 batons (48 batons is a square French ell, 16 a Flemish ell), and took 45 weeks to make — 11 weeks for the sleeves and the head containing 9 batons, 34 weeks for the remaining 183 batons, which is a little less than 2^ batons per week for each of the two weavers. The portrait was presented in 1768 by Louis XV to the King of Denmark, together with an Esther set and a set of the New Indies. Portraits executed in tapestry by Cozette were a bust of Louis XV after Vanloo; of the Queen Marie Leczinska, after Nattier; of the Dauphin (later Louis XVI), after Vanloo; of Marie Antoi- nette after Drouais; of Joseph II Emperor of Austria, and his Empress Marie Therese; of Catharine the Great, Empress of Russia. The last is now in the palace of Tsarkoe-Selo and bears Cozette's signature. Of all these portraits, and others, there are numerous duplicates and variants, for portraits of individuals in tapestry seemed to appeal to late XVIII century and XIX century taste. As works of art they do not rank high. Beginning about 1750, as a result of the influence of Madame de Pompadour, many furniture tapestries — seats and backs for chairs and sofas, and panels for screens — were executed at the Gobelins after models of Tessier, Jacques, and Boucher. The only new sets originated at the Gobelins during the reign of Louis XVI — the History of Henri IV in six pieces, after Francois Andre Vincent; the Seasons in four pieces, after Antoine Callet; HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 185 the History of France in nine pieces, after different painters, were unimportant from the tapestry point of view. To follow the destinies of the Gobelins during the XIX century and since — would, as is perti- nently said by the learned Curator of Art Objects of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance at the Louvre, be both "sad and useless." But while great tapestries are no longer originated at the Gobelins, it must be admitted that upon the existence of the Gobelins in the XIX century, the survival of the art probably depended, and that to the exist- ence of the Gobelins the Renaissance of tapestries is largely due. Personally, I got more at the Gobelins than anywhere else, and am profoundly grateful to every member of the personnel, from M. Guiffrey down, who in 1906 received me so cordially and made me free of the work rooms and the library. I believe it is possible at the Gobelins to revive the art in its pristine vigour, if they will deliberately forsake XVII and XVIII century precedents, and return to XVI century texture and method. THE BEAUVAIS TAPESTRY WORKS While the Furniture Factory of the Crown at the Gobelins was a State institution organised by Colbert to produce tapestries and other art objects for the King, the business at Beauvais was a private one established by Louis Hinart, a native of Beauvais who was an experienced maker and merchant of 180 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN tapestries, having a shop in Paris where he disposed of the goods made at his factory in Flanders. Col- bert gave him every encouragement to transfer his looms to France, and on August 5, 1664, the King signed an edict subsidising and conferring special privileges on "the royal manufactures of high and low warp tapestries established at Beauvais and other places in Picardy." Of the amount necessary for the acquisition of real estate and buildings, the King agreed to advance two-thirds, up to 30,000 livres. But the money advanced by the King was secured by mortgage on the property. The King also lent Hinart another 30,000 livres for the pur- chase of wool, silk, dyes, etc., which the latter and his associates undertook to repay within six years. They also bound themselves to employ the first year not less than 100 workmen, and to increase the number annually so that it should be 600 at the end of six years. Upon the accomplishment of which the King waived the repayment of the first 30,000 livres advanced by him. The royal treasury was also to pay 20 livres for every foreign workman attracted to France. Hinart was to have always in training at least 50 apprentices, towards whose maintenance the King allowed 30 livres a year each. For every set of tapestries over 20 aunes long (78 feet) exported to foreign countries Hinart was to receive a bonus of 20 livres. The King was better than his promise. Hinart received not only the first 30,000 livres in 1664, but 10,000 livres more in 1665 to continue the buildings, numiiuhuh; VULCAN PLATE no. 187. Beauvais XVIII century tapestry Screen Panel bearing the imperial double-headed eagle that clasps in its talons the imperial sceptre and globe with cross. Size 3 feet 2 by 2 feet 6 and subject Vulcan at the Forge, after Boucher. 188 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN and a further 20,000 livres in 1667. He also re- ceived in 1664 the 30,000 livres for the purchase of materials, together with 2,077 livres in 1666, 5,400 livres in 1667, 16,200 livres in 1669, 4,957 livres in 1670, 5,285 livres in 1672, 5,066 livres in 1673, in accordance with the agreements about apprentices and foreign workmen. The King also, in 1668, released Hinart from the obligation to repay 12,000 livres of the money advanced, and what was of even greater importance bought tapestries of him regularly and largely. From 1667 to 167 1 Hinart received 16,519 livres 18 sous 4 deniers, for 6 sets of tapestry in 39 pieces — four verdures, one set of animal verdures, one of small personages and animals. In 1669 he received 41,789 livres for thirteen sets in 78 pieces described in the Louis XIV Inventory. Among them Children Playing, a set of 8 pieces 25^ aunes long enriched with gold, and numerous verdures, some of which are described as after Fouquieres the well-known landscape painter. In 1670, 2,700 livres for a Village Marriage in six pieces. In 1675, 12,552 livres for 8 sets in 49 pieces, one set of six at 40 livres an aune, the rest at 30 livres an aune. The prevailing prices at the Gobelins were 200, 300 and even 400 livres an aune. This comparison gives an idea of the relative positions of the two institu- tions, while Hinart continued in management. The royal subventions amounting in all to 250,000 livres and the royal purchases of 254 tapestries for 94,666 livres, were not enough to make the enter- HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 189 prise prosper at Beauvais. In 1684 Hinart was at the end of his resources and obliged to retire. Cronstrom, the Paris agent of the Swedish Crown, in his letters home (page 83 of volume IV of Boettiger Swedish), gives as the reason for Hinart's creditors throwing him into bankruptcy: that Madame de Montespan had entrusted Philip Behagle's Paris factory with the execution of the beautiful tapestries she was having made after the designs of Berain for her son the Count of Toulouse, and that Hinart's best workmen had left him to go with Behagle. When Hinart retired Behagle, who was a native of Tournai, was chosen to succeed him. He did not content himself with weaving verdures, but boldly launched forth into the production of large figure tapestries. That he was encouraged by the King is clear from the inscription engraved on the garden wall of Beauvais that says: "King Louis XIV rested under this shade in 1686. Sieur Behagle was then director of the Factory." But the en- couragement did not extend to such constant sub- ventions and large purchases of tapestries, as under Hinart. The only advance Behagle received was one of 12,000 livres when he took charge in 1684, and from 1684 to 1700 he sold to the Crown only 12 sets of tapestries in 70 pieces besides a high warp set for 5,000 livres. Among important sets pro- duced for individuals was that of the Conquests of Louis the Great. Of the set that was enriched with gold only two pieces are known to survive, now in the possession of Signor Candido Cassini of Florence. 190 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Another splendid set woven by Behagle was Ra- phael's Acts of the Apostles in eight pieces, copied from the set formerly exhibited at the Cathedral of Meaux. This set signed by Behagle (See plate no. 91) is now in the Beauvais Cathedral, and there is a duplicate of it in the French National Collec- tion. Other sets were the Adventures of Tele- machus in six pieces (after cartoons by Arnault, acquired in Brussels), of which there is an example in excellent condition in the Royal Spanish Collec- tion and several in Paris private collections: the Story of Achilles, the Marine Divinities in four pieces bearing the arms of the Count of Toulouse High Admiral of France; the Chinese Grotesques after Berain, of which many copies were woven, and of which the Musee des Arts Decoratifs has a remarkable example with a delightful border (illus- trated on page 12 of Badin Beauvais). Especially interesting from the historic, as well as from the tapestry point of view, is the set of 4 pieces in the Royal Swedish Collection woven for the King of Sweden, under the direction of Cron- strom mentioned above, after the battle painting of Ph. Lemke. The cartoons were painted at Beauvais by Jean Baptiste Martin, and the border cartoons by Vernansal after designs by Berain. The subject of the series was the Battles of the Swedish King Charles XI: the Siege of Malmo, the Battle of Landskrona, the Second Day of the Battle of Lund, the Third Day of the Battle of Lund. The average size of the pieces is 13 by 16^ HUUWHUHJMtUIIMIIilH HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 191 feet, and all are illustrated in volume II of Boettiger Swedish, one of them in Badin Beauvais. The first is unsigned, the second and fourth are signed BEHAGLE, the third D. LACROIX. The Dela- croix is undoubtedly the Gobelin low warp contractor who, like many of the Gobelins weavers during the years that the Gobelin plant was shut down, sought work at Beauvais. All are enriched with gold and show the arms of the Swedish Crown in the top border with a Latin inscription in the bottom border, and Charles XI's monogram in the side borders. The contract price for weaving was 11,000 livres (135 livres an aune), a sum increased by extras later. Charles XI never saw the tapestries as the first was not finished until 1699, and he died in 1697. Originally it had probably been the inten- tion to reproduce in tapestry the whole series of ten paintings that pictured the actions of the war waged by Charles XI against Denmark. Among others who bought from Behagle were the Duke of Bourbon, the Duke of Maine, the Duke of Bavaria, the Duke of Duras, the Duke of Saxony, the Archbishop of Reims. The prices varied from 45 to 100 livres an aune, and in an interesting mem- orandum Behagle estimates his profit on each at from one-quarter to one- third. When Behagle died in 1706, he left the business in a flourishing condition. But his widow and sons were not equal to the task of keeping it up, and in 171 1 the brothers Filleul succeeded. They, too, although they enjoyed the favour of the Regent, 192 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN failed to put the business on a sound footing, and in 1722 were succeeded by Sieur de Merou. Tapes- tries dating from the period of the brothers Filleul are the Chinese set in six pieces after Vernansal, Blin de Fontenay and Dumons, of which there is a splendid set in the Chateau de Compiegne; and the Metamorphoses in eight pieces, after Houasse. The subjects of the former are the Prince's Audience, the Prince Travelling (illustrated in Badin Beaiwais), the Astronomers, the Luncheon, Gathering Pine- apples, Picking Tea; of the latter, Io changed into a Cow, the Palace of Circe, the Fish of Glaucus, the transformations of Ocyrhoe into a Mare, Cadmus into a Serpent, Jupiter into a Bull, Acteon into a Stag, Hippomenes and Atalanta into Lions. The important event of the twelve-year ad- ministration of Merou was the appointment of Jean Baptiste Oudry July 22, 1726, at a salary of 3,500 livres a year to succeed the painter Duplessis as art director of the Beauvais Tapestry Works. In return for the salary he was to furnish eight original cartoons 28 aunes long every three years. Among new designs employed by Merou were the Animal Fights in eight pieces after Souef; the Grotesques after Vernansal, Blin de Fontenay, and Dumons; Children Playing, in six pieces after Damoiselet of Brussels; Seaports in six pieces after Kerchooe and Campion; Cephale and Procris in four pieces after Damoiselet; Fine Verdures with Birds in six pieces after Firens, the Fair at Bezons with small figures in six pieces after Martin, the • luiuiuum HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 193 Temple of Venus in six pieces after Duplessis. The first cartoons delivered by Oudry were the New Hunts in six pieces (the Wolf, the Stag, the Fox, the Wild Boar, the Hound, the Deer); Outdoor Games in four pieces; the Comedies of Moliere in four pieces (For illustrations of these see Kann Collection 1907). During the nine years from 1722 to 1 73 1, Merou produced 38 sets of tapestries be- sides a few portieres and furniture coverings. But of the 38 sets only 13 had been sold in 1731 and most at considerable loss. The Temple of Venus, that cost 28,755 hvres to make, was finally, after vain efforts to find a purchaser, disposed of in Leipsic to King Augustus of Poland for only 13,755 livres. The selling cost at the Paris shop was 7 per cent, and at the shop that represented the works in Leipsic was 10 per cent., transportation and customs duties not included. Naturally enough Merou could not go on for ever doing business at a loss, and in 1734, being unable to meet his financial obligations, was obliged to retire. His successor was Nicolas Besnier, a practical man of affairs who took up his residence at Beauvais, and splendidly seconded the efforts of Oudry whose academic duties and position as chief inspector of the Gobelins (1 733-1 755), obliged him to live in Paris, visiting Beauvais but seldom. Any tapestry signed BESNIER ET OUDRY in the bottom selvage is worthy of careful attention. With the accession of Besnier prosperity arrived. Oudry continued to turn out cartoons that enjoyed immense 194 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN popularity, some of them being reproduced ten or a dozen times. Among these cartoons were new- subjects from Ovid's Metamorphoses in eight pieces, ten Fine Verdures (the Pheasant, the Eagle, the Fox, the Wild Duck, the Bittern, the Clarinette, the Bustard, the Charmille, the Dog and the Pheasant, the Lion and the Boar) ; and the Fables of Lafontaine (the Dog and her Companion, the Two Hares, the Lion and the Boar, the Fox and the Grapes, the Wolf and the Fox), that were constantly on the looms at Beauvais for forty years and were copied and recopied by most other tapestry factories French and foreign. Not content with what he accom- plished himself, Oudry invited the co-operation of the artists then most in vogue. Incited by the success of Charles Coypel's Don Quixote series for the Gobelins, Charles Natoire designed a set of ten Don Quixote tapestries for Beauvais. These tapes- tries, ordered in 1735 for M. de Durfort, are now in the Archbishop's palace at Aix-en-Provence. Several of the cartoons are in the Chateau de Compiegne, and one of them is illustrated in Badin Beauvais. Most famous of Oudry's collaborators was Fran- cois Boucher who supplied him with designs for six sets of tapestries in forty-five pieces. In 1736 the Italian Fetes in fourteen pieces, some of which were reproduced sixteen times (113 tapestries in all); in 1741 the Story of Psyche in five pieces reproduced seven or eight times; in 1743 the Chinese Set for which Dumons painted the cartoons after Boucher's sketches; in 1749 the Loves of the Gods HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 195 in nine pieces; in 1752 Opera Fragments in five pieces; in 1764 the Noble Pastoral in six pieces for the apartments of the Dauphine at Fontainebleau (the Fountain of Love, the Flute Player, Bird Catching, the Fisherman, the Luncheon, all illus- trated in Kann Collection 1907). One piece of the Psyche set sold not long ago for $60,000, and the Vertumnus and Pomona tapestry from the Loves of the Gods series, illustrated in colour as the frontispiece of this book, is valued at $120,000. Rather different that from the 8,835 livres 12 sous 8 deniers paid in 1745 by the King of Sweden for an entire set without borders of the Story of Psyche (the livre being before 1795 the name of the coin now called the franc). The set is still in the Royal Swedish Collection and is illustrated in Boettiger Swedish. There are a number of excellent examples of Beauvais-Boucher tapestries in New York private collections. Just as Louis XIV visited Beauvais under Behagle, so Louis XV visited it under Oudry. Voltaire spoke of it as "le royaume d'Oudry" (Oudry's kingdom). Oudry's arrangement with Besnier was very favourable, for, in addition to his fixed salary, he shared in the profits, but not in the losses. Besnier's death in 1753 preceded that of Oudry by two years. He was followed by Andre Charle- magne Charron (1 753-1 780), who was able to con- tinue his successes. New designs woven while Char- ron was manager are Scenes from the Iliad in seven pieces after Deshays, bought by the King for 575 196 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN livres an aune; the Story of Astrsea in three pieces, after Deshays; the Russian Games in six pieces after Leprince; Country Sports in eight pieces, the Bohemians in six pieces, the Four Ages in four pieces, after Casanova The King bought regularly from Charron, paying him, from 1754 to 1779, no less than 450,000 livres for sets of tapestries complete with furniture cover- ings to match, sent as presents to foreign courts. Very interesting is the story of the adventures of a Chinese Set that went to China in 1763, and finally returned to France. The expenditure for cartoons, from 1754 to 1780, was 63,956 livres. In 1780 Sieur de Menou, a tapestry manufacturer from Aubusson, successfully introduced the making of pile rugs of the savonnerie type at Beauvais. Among new designs woven by him in tapestry, were the Pastorals with Blue Draperies and Arabesques in eight pieces after J. B. Huet; the Conquest of the Indies in three pieces after Lavallee Poussin; Military Scenes in six pieces after Casanova; the Sciences and the Arts after Lagrenee ; the Four Parts of the World after Lebarbier; the Story of Alexander in four pieces after Lavallee Poussin; Aristotle draw- ing Aspasia's carriage Surprised by Alexander, and Alcibiades discovered among the Courtesans by Socrates, two pieces after Monsiau; two pieces illustrating the Story of Achilles after Desoria. Menou 's success is shown by the increase in the number of workmen from the 50 of Charron's time to 120. But when the Revolution came they de- .WiW* HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 197 mandcd higher pay and finally took their grievances to the National Assembly. Menou declared himself unable to meet the demands and retired in 1793. Then the works were shut down for a year, and when reopened were put under State control, with wages for piece work tripled, and six men employed. At the Gobelins day wages had already been substituted for piece work. This example was followed at Beauvais in 1825. To-day the Beauvais Works confine their efforts ior the most part to the production of furniture coverings and use the improved low warp loom designed by Vaucanson for Neilson at the Gobelins. Since 1854 the smaller looms at Beauvais are of iron, which makes them lighter and easier to manipu- late, but the large looms are still of wood, because wood alone gives the elasticity necessary to preserve uniform tension in a very wide warp. The use of high warp looms was practically dispensed with at Beauvais in the time of Oudry, and the last high warp looms there were sent to the Gobelins in 1827, when the Gobelins sent its last low warp looms to Beauvais. The City of Beauvais is 55 miles by rail north of Paris, and the tapestry works are open to visitors every week day from 12 to 4. There is an interest- ing museum, and a school of design and tapestry weaving. The annual budget for salaries and materials amounts to about 115,000 francs. Among picture wall tapestries woven at Beauvais in recent years is a scene from the Story of a local heroine, 198 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Jeanne Hachette, designed by M. Cormon for the Beauvais Lyceum. I saw it on the occasion of my visit to Beauvais in March, 1906, and liked it much. AUBUSSON LOOMS A set of Aubusson tapestries to cover five pieces of furniture — sofa, two arm-chairs, two side chairs — weighs ten pounds, measures nine square yards, and costs in the United States from $1,000 to $5,000. That is to say, if you bought it by weight, you would pay from $100 to $500 a pound. If you bought it by area, you would pay from $110 to $550 a square yard. To an Aubusson set that costs $1,400 corre- spond a Belleville set at $950 and a Nimes set at $700 — both the latter broche imitations of real tapestry that are sometimes mistaken for it. Aubusson tapestries are woven in the little town of Aubusson in France, 207 miles by rail south of Paris. Tradition says that the industry was estab- lished there in the year of our Lord 732 by stragglers from the Saracen army that Charlemagne's grand- father, Charles Martel, defeated near Tours, thus saving Europe to Christianity. In 1664 the tapes- try merchants and weavers of Aubusson, in a report to the King on the condition of the manufacture, declared that it had been "established from time immemorial, no person knowing the institution of it." But the first documentary evidence that has been discovered of tapestries woven in the Aubusson district, is in the will dated 1507 of the Duchess of llUinUUlUlMUHNUtBMIUHJIHi -a > a a! -e -a ^ 1 a S £ O »^ ^ _9 3 a; fe fe H m * if- d.s ^ !-* BO +J 03 > 73 a • O ai °0 r* ,-. — 2 So ^ c C -o 3 3 1. 3 03 D _§ <3 > O 2 «0 03 •g -g - OS _ . > T3 O 3 03 -a -° *s ■r m o 2 oj 73 II! ""Co; " c ^ S- « T3 „ .2 -2 H « 3 oi ? j O ^ K _» jo o 3 D. 3 13 y3 — -ti +j ,-3 03 uiuuttiHMiii&imnuui HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 199 Valentinois, who had the somewhat doubtful dis- tinction of being the widow of the notorious Caesar Borgia. In the will are enumerated numerous tapestries from the looms of Felletin, mostly ver- dures, several of them being described as "tappicerie de Felletin a. feuillages." Colour plate no. IV illustrates the front and the reverse of an Aubusson chair-back. The ribs run vertically instead of horizontally as on wall tapes- tries. In furniture tapestries the ribs are either vertical or horizontal as is most convenient for the weaver, and the texture is often as fine as 24 ribs to the inch. The warp of the tapestry before us is of wool and the weft is of silk and wool, principally silk. Aubusson seats and backs are largely in the style of Louis XV or XVI, and consequently in delicate tones that are most easily secured in silk. Returning to the colour illustration, I would ask the reader to note that the reverse of a tapestry furnishes a quick test to enable the novice to dis- tinguish real tapestry from Belleville and Nimes broche imitations. In the broche the floats on the back are all parallel with the weft — that is to say perpendicularly across the warp. But in real tapes- tries the back is covered with loose threads — not parallel — that mark the transition of bobbin from section to section of the same colour. When the loose threads are shaved off, the back is seen to be exactly like the face, except that the direction of the design is reversed. In a.d. 418, the land of the Lemovices, that 200 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN in four and a half centuries had become more Ro- man than Rome itself, was granted by the Roman Emperor Honorius to the invading Visigoths — barbarians from the forests of Germany and Russia — as their "mark." Hence its Latin name Marchia Lemovicina that in French became La Marche. Auvergne got its name from the Arverni, and in the seventeenth century Aubusson tapestries were often called "tapisseries d'Auvergne," while tapestries made in Felletin were called "tapisseries de La Marche." The modern name for the political division in which both towns are situated is the Department de la Creuse, named from the river that flows through Aubusson, which was said to possess, like the Bievre of the Gobelins, and the Bronx at Williamsbridge, certain mysterious qualities that endear its water to the dyers of wool. In the year 1581 an ordinance of Henri III speaks of tapestries from Felletin and Aubusson as "tap- pisserie ou tapis dit Feletin, d'Auvergne." In 1601 Henri IV encouraged the industry greatly by for- bidding the importation of Flemish tapestries into France. But the Parisians were not content to share prosperity with Aubusson. They wanted a monopoly of the Paris market. They wanted to tax the Aubusson tapestries on entry to Paris, and to allow them to remain there on exhibition only a fortnight. Evidently they feared the competition of the hardy mountaineers of Auvergne and La Marche. Fortunately the Government did not share their local selfishness, and a royal decree dated nUUmUMTUHIUKMIIlUHIUIUWI HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 201 February I, 1620, confirmed Aubusson and Felletin in their rights. An indication of the high quality of the work being done at Aubusson in the first part of the XVII century is the fact that, in 1625, a tapestry merchant of Aubusson received an order to supply the cathedral of Reims with four figure tapestries on religious subjects — the Assumption, the Virgin with the infant Christ, Saint Nicaise, and Saint Remi. Contemporary evidence about tapestry weaving at Aubusson in the XVII century is also to be found in the article on the Haute Lisse in Savary's Dictionnaire du Commerce, published in 1 64 1. He says: "There are also two other French tapestry factories, one at Aubusson in Auvergne, and the other at Felletin in La Marche. It is the tapestries made in these places that are called tapisseries d'Auvergne. Felletin makes the best verdures, and Aubusson the best figures. It is a long time since anything but the basse lisse [low warp loom] has been used either in Auvergne or Picardy." By 1664, however, the industry appeared to be in a bad way. According to the report made to Col- bert, the number of weavers had decreased, there was a lack of good cartoons, and wool was coarse, and the dyes were bad. The tapestry merchants and weavers of Aubusson requested the services of a good painter and an able dyer. They were not willing to have all the royal favours showered on the Gobelins and Beauvais, while Aubusson got nothing. 202 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN I suspect that they may even have exaggerated their woes in order to move the royal compassion. In response to their petition, the King the next year authorised them to use the title "Royal Manu- factory." It was also ordered that "as the perfec- tion of the said tapestries depends especially on good designs and the dyeing of the wools, in order to improve the said works and to treat favourably the workmen, a good painter chosen by the Sieur Col- bert, should be maintained at the expense of the King to make designs for the tapestries manufactured in the said town; and there should also be estab- lished in it a master dyer to colour the goods em- ployed in the said manufactory." Why the prom- ised painter and dyer were not sent at once we do not know. Perhaps the fact that Aubusson was a Protestant town may have had something to do with it. At any rate, a few years later, in con- sequence of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, Aubusson lost an important part of its population. Together with other Protestants two hundred of the best weavers of Aubusson had to leave France. Pierre Mercier, with nine others, went to Germany, and was successful in establishing himself there. The promised painter and dyer were finally sent in the year 1731, in the reign of Louis XV. The painter was Jean Joseph Dumons; the dyer was the Sieur Fizameau, who was succeeded shortly by Pierre de Montezert. An ordinance of 1732 provided that the work of Aubusson should be CHINESE SCENE PLATE no. 203. A Chinese Return from Fishing. An Aubusson XVTII century tapestry in the collection of M. Martin Le Roy, versed and modified from one of the nine Chinese designs painted by Francois Boucher in 1742 for the Beauvais Tapestry Works, w preserved in the Museum of Besanc,on. The maker was Pierre Picon who signed duplicates of two of the companion pieces in i Le Roy collection: M. R. D'AVBVSSON. PICON (Royal Manufactory of Aubusson, Picon). 204 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN distinguished by weaving the name of the town and the initials of the weaver into the border. After the arrival of Dumons and largely as the result of his efforts, the industry became again prosperous. During the French Revolution, weaving was prac- tically suspended both here and at the Gobelins. The condition of Aubusson a little later can be seen from a report made to Napoleon in 1804. It gives the number of workmen on flat rugs, hangings, and furniture coverings as 240 to 250, and on pile rugs as 50 to 60. The looms, except those for pile rugs, were at the houses of the workmen. Linen came from Flanders, silk from Lyons, wool from Bayonne. Work was partly by the piece, partly by the day, and wages were from a franc to a franc and a half a day. The total production was about $30,000 a year. Tapestries in fine wool were from $10 to $18 a yard, in silk from $24 to $30. At the present time 1,800 men and women are employed at Aubusson in making rugs and tapestries by hand, the total product being about $200,000 yearly. The best foreign customers are the United States and England. The weavers are contented with from $1 to $2 a day according to ability. In 1804 they got from twenty to thirty cents only. The painters who produce the coloured cartoons, some original and some copied or adapted from the antique, receive from $80 to $120 a month. For a training school, Aubusson has a "National School of Decorative Art." Apprentices are received in the different ateliers at the age of thirteen and by HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 205 the end of the first year are paid two or three cents a day. Their assistance in the simpler and easier work is important in keeping the cost of production down. At the Paris Exposition of 1900, the exhibits of three Aubusson manufacturers were of such ex- cellence as to be awarded Grand Prizes — the same award as to the Gobelins, the product of which is reserved for the French Government. Among the tapestries that helped to win these grand prizes, were reproductions of one of Oudry's XVIII century Hunts of Louis XV, of the panel Venus and the panel Jupiter from Claude Audran's Grotesque Months; in silk and gold of the Chateau de Blois and the Chateau de St. Germain, from Lebrun's XVII century series the Royal Residences. Of these reproductions the jury said: "They are so like the originals as to be mistaken for them." Of an Empire set of furniture coverings, part antique and part Aubusson restoration, the jury said: "Only the most experienced eye can tell the new from the old." CHAPTER VII Other Looms American, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian The late William Baumgarten was a man of strong personality and great executive ability. In a lecture held before the Society of Antiquarians at the Art Institute, Chicago, March 25, 1897, he told the story of the founding at Williamsbridge in New York City, of the first tapestry works in America. He said: "The history of our enterprise is soon told. When the thought first came to me of attempting the introduction of tapestry-making in this country, I was fully aware of the magnitude of the task and of the serious obstacles to be overcome. It was, of course, necessary to bring the artisans over from France, and to build the looms as a first step. This seems simple enough, and yet, had we not had the good fortune of finding M. Foussadier, the former master workman of the Royal Windsor Tapestry Works in England, it might have been very difficult to get other first-class men to come after him. They were all unwilling to leave France, and could only be induced by the promise of higher wages, the guarantee of steady work for at least a year and free passage over and back. 206 GOTHIC HUNTING TAPESTRY PLATE no. 207. A Late Gothic Hunting tapestry designed in America, and woven at Williamsbridge. Interesting to compare with it is the hunting scene in the Hoentschel Collection lent by Mr. Morgan to the Metropolitan Museum. 208 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN "M. Foussadier, with his family, came over the early part of January, 1893, bringing with him a small loom which was at once set up in one of our rooms at No. 321 Fifth Avenue, and work began. I can here show you the first piece of tapestry produced. It is a small chair seat, and took about two weeks to make. It is a simple and modest production, but is not for sale, and is intended to remain an heirloom in my family as the first piece of tapestry produced in America. The second piece, exactly the same, was soon produced, and this found its way, through the kindly interest of its wide-awake Director, to the Field Museum in Chicago. "Four more weavers soon followed my new superintendent, one after another, in the first few months. In the meantime we had built more looms, and it had become necessary to find a suitable home for their ateliers, and my choice fell on a house in Williamsbridge, which was in former years a French restaurant and hotel, where I spent many a happy Sunday in the springtime of my Bohemian days, 30 years ago. There is quite a French settle- ment there, and I thought my men would feel more at home there than elsewhere. As a matter of fact, they have found here a little paradise. "But we soon made another happy discovery. M. Foussadier, who is as expert a dyer as he is a weaver, soon discovered, at his first experiments, that the water of the Bronx River, which flows at our door, possesses the most excellent qualities for WINTER PLATE no. 209. Winter, one of a set of tapestry portieres designed and made at Williamsbridge for the dining room of a residence in New York City. In the right selvage appears the mark of the maker, a B with shield. 210 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN dyeing purposes. This is owing to the dissolved vegetable substances which it contains. I may here mention that this same quality was attributed to the water of the little river La Bievre in the Faubourg St. Marcel in Paris, where the Gobelins located their dye-works in the XV century, and which became so famous on account of their supe- riority over all others. "The next step was to secure apprentices, with the view of making the industry gradually a native one and independent of foreign workmen. This, however, proved more difficult. It is one of the evils of this country that boys, after leaving school, are not permitted or bound to serve a regular ap- prenticeship for three or four years, as in Europe, to properly learn a trade. They are required by their parents to earn at once $3 or $4 a week, which drives them into the stores and messenger offices, etc. It is evident that for the first year or two little, if anything, is of value to me that can be done by these boys. On the contrary, they require constant tuition and use up material which consti- tutes an actual loss to me. However, I determined to make the sacrifice in order to make a beginning, and we took on two boys to whom we promised $2 per week the first year, $4 the second year, $6 the third and $8 the fourth. These were followed by two more boys the second year, and again by two more the third. All six are now doing very well, and the first two are already producing quite good work. mm mmmji 212 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN "Thus, the first year was employed to get well started and to produce a number of specimens, such as curtains, portieres, borders, chair coverings, etc., of various qualities to show what we could do. It was at the end of the first year, in April, 1894, that I had the honour to read before the National Society of Sculpture, New York, a little paper on our tapestry industry, and to submit to their inspection some of our first productions. They were not very pre- tentious, to be sure, and I said then that my ambition and aim was much higher, that I hoped some day to make wall panels of as high an artistic merit and as excellent in workmanship as the best of the preceding centuries. For such work, however, one must have orders, and in these depressed times they were not easily obtained. "Shortly after this lecture before the National Sculpture Society, I arranged a little exhibition of the first year's products, in one of our warerooms, and sent out cards. This was in May, 1894. In response to the invitation, among many others a gentleman from Philadelphia walked in on a line May morning, saying he wished to see the show. He liked to take in shows that cost nothing, he said. After some conversation and a careful inspection of our new productions, he said, 'So you would like to make more ambitious things, wall panels with figure compositions, eh? Do you think you could do as well as those old fellows of a hundred or two hundred years ago?' To which I meekly answered that I would try, if I had the opportunity. 'Well,' lll^SRIllHliBSllRHDiSaiHini HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 213 he said, 'I will give you the opportunity. Come over to Philadelphia next week and I will show you the room.' The result was that, after making coloured sketches, which took about a month and which were approved, I received my first com- mission for a complete set of wall panels for a Parlour, 13 in number, all in the genre of Boucher, with what is called 'Pastoral Scenes.' It also included the furniture coverings and two pairs of portieres, and the cost amounted to over $20,000. The work was completed by the first of December, 1895, in about 15 months. I had the gratification of having our work pass muster before the critical eyes of many leading artists and connoisseurs, and it has given the greatest pleasure ever since to my courageous and generous client in Philadelphia, Mr. P. A. B. Widener. "The number of workmen were, of course, im- mediately increased by fresh importations from Europe. Six of them came in a lot, and were duly stopped by the Immigration Commissioners as contract labourers. Then began my troubles. I was ordered to appear before this august tribunal of wise judges, six in number, mostly Irish and German politicians, who knew absolutely nothing about tapestry, and could not be made to believe that in this, the greatest of all the countries in the world, there were no such beings as tapestry weavers to be found, and that it was absolutely a new in- dustry I was founding, for which the law allows the admission of imported workmen. I gave them a 214 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN most exhaustive lecture, with historical and statisti- cal data, while my poor Frenchmen sat by like prisoners, not knowing what it was all about. However, to make a long story short, after a few days, they were liberated by an order from the Secretary of the Treasury, and thus escaped the dreadful fate of being returned to their own lovely country, la Belle France." Of the six large tapestry plants in this world — the Gobelins, Beauvais, three at Aubusson, Williams- bridge — the American one is by no means the least important, as regards either quality or quantity of output. It was awarded a Grand Prize for two panels exhibited at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904, and has executed commissions for a large proportion of the leading families of this country. Illustrations nos. 207, 209, 211, 247, 249, 251, 253, are of Williams- bridge looms, materials, processes, and product. THE HERTER LOOMS Four years ago, in February, 1908, to be exact, Albert Herter established on East 33d Street in the heart of New York City, the looms that bear his name, and started to weave tapestries of the kind woven in the Netherlands in the time of Philip the Handsome, Margaret of Austria, and Charles V. Though a painter by profession, Mr. Herter has a keen appreciation of tapestry texture, which he has developed by personal work at the loom. In this he follows William Morris whose views and practice 216 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN are expressed in chapter V. Like Morris, he has a particular liking for Late Gothic "verdures with personages," as illustrated by the tapestry I re- produce on plate no. 215, and by the one woven for the upper wall of the hall in the house of Mrs. E. H. Harriman at Arden. The latter is fifty feet long by five feet high, and backgrounds American dryads and nymphs of forest and fountain, with trees and flowers, birds, rabbits and foxes, native to Arden. Later in style — definitely Renaissance with wide and luxuriant borders — are two panels each 9 feet 11 by 7 feet 8, picturing one a hunter with his dog, the other a lady and a flower girl. Quite different in type is the armourial panel 8 feet by 5, woven for Mr. John De Kay to hang in his French castle, the Chateau de Coucy. Especially interesting should be the set of 26 panels now on the looms, picturing the Story of New York back to the days when Peter Stuyvesant smoked his long- stemmed pipe and cursed in Dutch. OTHER AMERICAN LOOMS Among other American tapestry looms, the most important are those established two years ago on Lexington Avenue in New York City by Pottier & Stymus. ITALIAN LOOMS Tapestries and rugs are, for Italians, an acquired taste, not made necessary by the climate of Italy, where frescoes and mosaics are the natural and ";-■ ..^ HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 217 obvious ornamental coverings for walls and floors. But in Italy, as elsewhere, national custom and in- dividual taste bow before the great god Fashion. Italian noblemen of the XV century were quick to appreciate the beauty of the hangings turned out from Flemish looms. In 1376 the Count of Savoy placed an important order with the great Parisian manufacturer Nicolas Bataille. In 1399 Francesco Gonzaga sent a set of tapestries to Paris to have the arms of Bohemia replaced by those of the Visconti. In 1406 an inventory shows that he possessed more than 50 tapestries. About this time French-Flemish tapestry-weavers began to cross the Alps, and set up small plants under the protection of different nobles and cities. The most ancient one with which we are acquainted is that of the Gonzagas, at Mantua, which was in operation by 1419 under the management of Johannes Thomae de Francia (John Thomas of France), and which executed work for Pope Martin V. Later managers were Nicolas, Guidone, Adamante, all French; Rinaldo Boteram of Brussels, Rubichetto. Among painters who furnished cartoons were Gio- vanni dei Conradi, and the famous master, Andrea Mantegna, whose paintings that picture the Triumphs of Caesar were acquired by Charles I of England, and are now at Hampton Court (See chapter IX). At Venice, in 142 1, John of Bruges and Valentine of Arras set up short-lived looms and Alviso Vivarini painted cartoons for the Story of Saint Theodore. At Siena, in 1438, Rinaldo Boteram of Brussels set 218 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN up looms, receiving a bounty from the city. In 1442 he was replaced by Jacquet, son of Benoit of Arras. The latter wove the Story of Saint Peter, in six pieces, besides many small decorative pieces and furniture coverings. At Rome, about 1455, Renaud de Maincourt executed for Pope Nicolas V the Creation of the World that was much praised by contemporaries. In Ferrara the Flemish weaver, Giacomo de Angelo, was joined at the Court of the Estes by his com- patriot, Pietro di Andrea, in 1441, and later important tapestries were woven under the direction of Lievin of Bruges after cartoons by Cosimo Tura, Gerardo di Vicence, Ugolino. Sabadino, an Egyptian weaver of rare ability, also worked for Duke Hercules I. In the XVI century the tapestry works at Ferrara were revived after a long period of rest by Duke Hercules II (1 534-1 559). Employed by him were the two famous Flemish weavers, Nicolas Karcher and John Karcher, the former of whom brought six workmen with him from Flanders, among them John Roost. Also at Ferrara was a Brussels weaver, Gerard Slot, until 1562. In five years not less than 25 tapestries came from the looms of John Karcher, who was succeeded by his son Louis, painter and weaver. The death of Duke Hercules II ended the period of prosperity. The head painter of the works was Battista Dossa, who designed a Life of Hercules and Scenes from the Metamorphoses. It is also said that Giulio Romano designed his Story of Scipio, and Combat of the Titans, for Ferrara. Of •° t: 3, 3 O. 3 4) > o X l-S •- ' o &•« £ CD eO .2 ~~ CO a a ns V \s > < o « 4) ■q a j3 » B ■- s >, 3 220 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN tapestries woven here, the Cathedral of Ferrara has the Story of Saint George and Saint Maurelius, the Cathedral of Como the Story of the Virgin. In the XVII century the store-rooms of the Estes con- tained more than 500 pieces, some made in Ferrara, some in Flanders. At Florence, the Medicis were inspired to imitate the example of the Estes, and for a hundred years — from 1546 to 1737 — the Arazzeria Medicea flour- ished. The founders were Jean Roost and Nicolas Karcher whom the Duke Cosimo I agreed to supply with factory space free, and pay each 600 golden ecus per year in addition to what he paid for work done. They were left free to accept outside com- missions, but must train apprentices and were to set up 24 looms, 12 of them low-warp. In the Florence Tapestry Museum are many examples of their work, Karcher signing tapestries with his initials, Roost with a crude picture of a roast turning on a spit. The chef-d'oeuvre of Roost and Karcher was probably the Story of Joseph in 20 pieces that must have cost not less than 60,000 golden ecus. It was designed by the painter Bronzino who also designed a Parnassus, a Hippocrene, a Marsyas. In 1550 Roost wove the Story of Saint Mark for the ancient basilica of Venice, after cartoons by Jacopo Sansovino. Other cartoons were those of Ecce Homo, a Pieta, a Lucretia, a Story of Alexander, by Salviati; and of the Twelve Months (See plate no. 219) and the Grotesques (See plate no. 353), by Bachiacca. None of the designs rank high as works m a p a > a Q v < -> 222 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN of art. They are distinguished by showy affectation and theatrical pomp. The extreme of decadence was reached by a Flemish painter named Jan Van Straaten (Stradano), who was the art director of the works during the last few years of the XVI century. One of the first tapestry plants to develop in Italy in the XVI century was at Vigevano, under the management of Benedetto da Milano. Here were woven the Triulce Months, ordered by Marshal Triulce and still preserved in the family palace at Milan. The designs are attributed to Bramantino but do that artist no credit, being heavy and poorly composed. One of the pieces bears the inscription: EGO BENEDICTUS DE MEDIOLANI HOC OPUS FECI, CUM SOCIIS IN VIGLEVANI. In the XVII century among master- weavers in Florence were Papini, Jacques Elbert Van Asselt, Pierre Lefevre (Pietro Fevere or Lefebvre), Giovanni Pollastri, Bernadino Van Asselt who signed the Moses Striking the Rock lent to the Metropolitan Museum by Mr. Rhinelander, Giovanni Battista Termini and his brother Stefano, Matteo Benvenuti, Bernadino Masi, Philip Lefevre son of Pierre named above, Nicolo Bartoli, Andrea and Bernardino Manzi, Angiola Masi, Giuseppe Cavalieri, Alessandro Ligi, Michele Bucci. Especially interesting to Americans is the factory founded in Rome in 1633 by Cardinal Francesco Barberini, nephew of Pope Urban VIII. The Cardinal, during his visit as legate to the Court of HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 223 Louis XIII, in 1625, had been inspired by the wealth of tapestries seen and by the flourishing condition of the French tapestry works of Comans and Planche, and had made exhaustive investigations into the origin, quality, and character of wools, silks, and dye- stuffs, and into methods of weaving and dyeing. The replies were preserved in the Barberini library, in a huge case labelled DIARIUM, and there con- sulted by Mr. Charles M. Ffoulke, who, in 1889, purchased the Barberini collection of tapestries and brought it to the United States. While Nicolas Poussin and Pietro de Cortona supplied designs for the Barberini works, the regular art director was Jean Francois Romanelli, and the manager of the works was Jacopo della Riviera. Among sets de- signed by Romanelli and woven by Riviera were the Life of Urban VIII, in six pieces, of which three are described (one illustrated) in Somzee Sale 1901 and Scenes in the Life of Christ in 11 pieces. The latter set passed from Mr. Ffoulke's possession into that of Mrs. John W. Simpson, who presented them to the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York. For a time (1907-8), they were on exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum, but now hang in the Cathedral. Several of the pieces are signed JAC. D. L. RIV. and all bear the arms of Urban VIII in each of the four corners — three golden bees, mon- tantes, shaded with sable, posed two and one on an azure field. In the middle of the top borders of some is the Sun adopted by the Barberini as crest; in the top border of some of them is a plough drawn 224 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN by two bees and guided by a third ; in the middle of the side borders of most, on the right Faith holding a cross, on the left Hope with clasped hands; in the bottom border of most, Charity suckling a child. The subjects are: (i) the Annunciation, (2) the Adoration of the Shepherds, (3) the Adoration of the Magi, (4) the Flight into Egypt, (5) the Bap- tism of Christ, (6) the Transfiguration, (7) the Last Supper, (8) the Mount of Olives, (9) the Crucifixion, (10) the Resurrection, (11) Giving the Keys to Saint Peter. With these is included a tapestry not belonging to the set but appropriate in subject, No. 12, a Map of the Holy Land. The tapestries are 15 feet 8 inches high and vary in width from 12 feet 10 to 19 feet 1. In the weaving Riviera was assisted by his son-in-law Rocci, a fact that makes interesting the following extract from the Papal archives: "On the 25th day of February, 1643, one hundred and thirty-four scudi were paid to Gasparo Rocci, tapestry weaver, completing the sum of four hundred and eighty-four of the same received as the price of a piece of tapestry; height 5^ yards by 5^ yards, woven with gold, silk, and yarn in which is repre- sented the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, the design of Francesco Romanelli, making in all 30^ yards at sixteen scudi the yard." In 1737 the Medici factory in Florence came to an end with the death of the last of the family and the weavers went to Naples and established a factory that lasted until the French conquest in 1799. In HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 225 1758 Pietro Durante was manager of the high-warp looms and in 1761 Michele Angelo Cavanna of the low-warp looms. Among tapestries woven were the Elements, after Lebrun, the Consecration of the Virgin, the Story of Don Quixote, the apotheosis of Charles III. One of the last pieces woven was signed DESIDERIO DI ANGELIS 1796. The manufacture of tapestries in Rome was re- vived in 1710, at the Hospital San Michele, by Pope Clement XI, with Jean Simonet of Paris as manager, and Andrea Procaccini as art director. From 171 7 to 1770 the manager was Pietro Ferloni whose signature P. FERLONI F. ROMAE appears on one of the Jerusalem Liberated tapestries belonging to the Metropolitan Museum. High-warp looms active in Rome to-day are those of San Michele, and of Erulo Eroli who has woven tapestries for the city of Rome that are illustrated in Rossi Arazzo. GERMAN LOOMS German tapestry looms were among the first to become active, as we have already seen in the chapter on Gothic Tapestries. But no German city ever be- came an important centre of tapestry-weaving. Among primitive German tapestries — besides the Saint Gereon and Halberstadt pieces — are the 12 pieces at the Ratisbon Rathaus that picture men and women in strange costumes playing cards or dancing; the Saint Catherine and the Apostles tapestries at 226 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Saint Laurent in Nuremberg; the one in the Nurem- berg Museum that pictures games and recreations on the walls of a fortified city; the one in the Brussels Museum 1.14 metres by 3.85, that pictures, against a verdure background with long descriptive scrolls, the Return of the King, the Banquet, the Game of Backgammon, the Visit to the Hermit, with tiny scenes from everyday life beneath the main scenes; Mr. Morgan's Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, lent to the Victoria and Albert Museum; the two long bands of tapestry exhibited at the Brussels Tapestry Exposition in 1880, one belonging to the Victoria and Albert Museum, the other to Prince Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, with long scrolls in- scribed in German, one of which reads: "ForWilhelm loves one of the beauties, Amely." In the Munich Museum are three large genealogi- cal tapestries that Ott-Heinrich had woven early in the XVI century at his own factory in Lauingen, after designs by M. Gerung. Also in the Munich Museum, the Four Seasons, Day, Night — six XVII century tapestries woven in Munich for Duke Maximilian I, of Bavaria, by Hans Van Der Biest after designs by Peter Candid; also the Twelve Months by the same masters. During the XVIII century a number of rather mediocre tapestries were woven in Munich and also in Berlin. A modern high warp plant in Germany is that of W. Ziesch & Co., established in Berlin in 1879. A booklet published on the occasion of the jubilee celebration of the XXV anniversary in 1904, con- HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 227 tains photographic illustrations of aged tapestries before and after repair (See plate no. 319), and a colour plate of a tapestry woven after a cartoon by the historical painter Julius Jiirss for the Dort- mund Rathaus, picturing "the Empress Elizabeth at the Rathaus Celebration in 1378." The four scenes are framed in jewelled Gothic columns, and the artist evidently made a serious attempt to re- produce the costumes and atmosphere of the XV century. SPANISH LOOMS In 1720 Philip V of Spain encouraged Jacques Vandergoten of Antwerp, with his four sons, to start in Madrid the Santa Barbara factory that is still in operation. The Vandergotens began by copying old sets of tapestries in the Royal Spanish Collection, among others the Conquest of Tunis, and the Story of Cyrus. Among new designs one of the most popular was the Story of Don Quixote, by Andrea Procaccini from the San Michele works in Rome. But the reputation of the Santa Barbara factory rests mainly on the 92 tapestries woven in the last quarter of the XVIII century from the 45 cartoons of Don Francisco de Goya (See Goya Tapices). Goya's tapestries are all characteristic pictures of contemporary Spanish life. Among these illus- trated in half-tone by Albert F. Calvert in his "Es- corial" London, 1907, are: the Gardens of Buen Retiro, Child Riding a Sheep, the Country Dance, 228 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN the Kite, the Washerwoman, the Little Giants, the Grape Sellers, the Card Players, the Wool Cutters, the See-Saw, the Reapers. In the same writer's "Goya" London, 1908, are illustrated many of Goya's tapestry cartoons that are preserved in the Prado. The cartoons are interesting to compare with the tapestries, as those that were executed on the low warp loom reverse the direction of the de- sign. In Calvert's "Escorial" are also illustrated a number of tapestries by F. Bayeu, painter to the King of Spain and Goya's master and father-in-law. The most interesting is Children Playing at Bull Fighting. RUSSIAN LOOMS The Imperial Tapestry works, founded by Peter the Great in St. Petersburg in 17 16, with workmen from Beauvais under Behagle the younger, produced a number of important tapestries in the XVIII century, of which there are examples in the Imperial Carriage Museum. The Royal Swedish Collection has a number of tapestry portraits executed on these looms, illustrated in Boettiger Swedish. For illustra- tions of Russian tapestry portraits of Catherine the Great and Peter the Great, the former in the Metro- politan Museum, the latter in the Moscow Museum of Arms and Armour, see plate no. 229. For history of these works that suspended operation in the middle of the XIX century, see Spiliotti Russian, who also gives a descriptive list of the tapestries produced. i!i!!r;i!'OTi!!n;HmniH!;i3ai^!ni .a * a i a a I & -' m * 3 fe-9 g| w a M ^ «* ^ o " H K — o of S e o "3 2 '55 » '•3 B 3S n 3! v — J3 o 3 a s <§.S 1— 1 1H - •« « 3 1 *3 u a oo * m J3 — ta M V a O S > 5 "3 s =g * H ,r w 2 2. 3$ o * - « 230 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN PEASANT TAPESTRIES An idea of the extent to which tapestry weaving — of a rustic but not uninteresting type — has been taken up by museums and arts-and-crafts associa- tions in different parts of Europe, particularly in Norway and Sweden, can be got from the fact that for exhibits of picture tapestries at the Paris Ex- position of 1900, gold or silver medals were awarded to: The Akteselskalbet of Christiania, Norway, for tapestries woven by Madame Frida Hansen (See plate no. 231). The jury commented particularly on Madame Hansen's openwork portieres. The Art Industry Museum of Trondhjem, Nor- way, for tapestries designed by M. Gerhard Munthe, and woven by Mile. Augusta Christiansen. The Handarbetets Vanner (Friends of Hand- work) of Stockholm, Sweden, with special mention of a large tapestry designed by the famous painter Carl Larssen. The City of Pirot in Servia. The Textile School of Scherrebeck in Schleswig- Holstein, Germany. The Misses Brinkman of Hamburg, German}'. The Society for the Encouragement of House Industry of Presburg, Hungary. Madame Kovalski of Torental, Hungary. The Finnish Society of Friends of the Manual Arts, of Helsingfors, Finland. The Roumanian textile exhibit. CHAPTER VIII The Texture of Tapestries Arras Tapestries. Greek and Roman Tapestries. High Warp and Low Warp. The Process of Weaving Arras tapestries have a more wonderful and fascinating texture than any other material. I say arras tapestries because I wish definitely to limit the statement to wall hangings with horizontal woven ribs in relief, and vertical hatchings (hach- ures), in colour — the type developed and made famous in French Flanders in the XIV and XV centuries, continued in the XVI century at Brussels (in French Flanders that had passed under Spanish control), in the XVII at Brussels, Mortlake, and the Gobelins; in the XVIII at the Gobelins, Beauvais, Brussels, and Aubusson. The progress after the middle of the XVI century was constantly down- ward. And while the most exquisite tapestries ever produced were woven in the first third of the XVI century, the most characteristic ones and those that, with least effort and most naturally expressed pictures and stories in true tapestry texture, date from the XV century. Arras tapestries are in their essence line drawings formed by the combination of horizontal ribs with 232 — izm\m > V 0) >S S3 2 a & O rt 2 is V V A 43 H i o — • t 2 ^ a > P s ° .2 a ^ o a * & .a (A 0> | is be en .5 4) B > (N ~3 "> ° 8.3 W o .9 S 1-° ►J hi * C V O £ 234 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN vertical weft threads and hatchings. There are no diagonal or irregular or floating threads as in embroideries and brocades. Nor do any of the warp threads show as in twills and damasks. The surface consists entirely of fine weft threads that completely interlace the coarser warp threads in plain weave (over and under alternately), and also completely cover them so that only the ribs mark their position — one rib for each warp thread. In other words every arras tapestry is a rep fabric. The number of ribs — from 8 to 24 to the inch — has much to do with the texture. Just because the Mazarin tapestry is very fine (22 ribs to the inch), and many cheaply woven tapestries are coarse, there is a tendency on the part of both dealers and amateurs to exalt the virtues of fineness. This is a serious error. The most marvellous tapestries of the XV century were comparatively coarse (from 8 to 12 ribs), and of the XVI moderately coarse (from 10 to 16). For anything finer than 20 in wall tapestries there is no excuse, except perhaps in a tour-de-force, where the design is so complicated and the figures so many and the weft threads so fine, that by com- parison the ribs are coarse, and the texture remains true tapestry texture — a line drawing. As regards materials, there is also a vast difference between the XV and later centuries. For tapestries as for rugs the best basic material is wool, and it is woollen weft on linen or woollen on hemp warp that composes the body of the great Gothic tapestries, whose texture is enriched with gold and silver thread HHHHnrcim HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 235 to a warmth and wealth of colour impossible in other materials. Nowadays we seem to be too poor to use gold and silver. At the Gobelins they let a weaver spend a year weaving a square metre, but refuse him the precious metals. In France, at the end of the XVIII century as pointed out in chapter I, they even burned up ancient and invaluable Gothic tapestries for the sake of the gold they contained. Silk is the fashion of the day. In all tapestries the tendency now is and has been since the XVI century to use too much silk. Mortlake and Gobelin and Brussels tapestries make this obvious. But Gobelins of the Louis XIV period, less than those woven since. Many of the Louis XIV Gobe- lins and Charles I Mortlake sets were heavy with gold. Too many colours are used to-day. They try to do in the dye-pot what ought to be done on the loom. In the XV century, 15 or 20 colours were enough. In the Renaissance, 20 or 30. Now there are available at the Gobelins no less than 14,400 different tones, besides the 20 grey tones called normals, all worked out and developed by Chevreul, chemist and manager of the dye-works at the Gobe- lins in the XIX century, who lead the march in the wrong direction. The movement started in the XVI century. Raphael and his pupils with their monopoly of the ancient mural paintings then just unearthed in Rome, set new problems for the Flemish weavers — 236 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN problems suggested by paint and easily solved in paint — but not at all suitable for tapestry. Tapestries are par excellence line drawings. Here- in lies their chief virtue and the moment they depart from it, confusion and uncertainty follow. But the wonderful genius for weaving inherited by the weavers of the XVI century, enabled them to accomplish the almost impossible, and translate at least partially many of the extreme shadow effects of Italian Renaissance painters. I have no quarrel with these painters. Far from it. Nor with those who took up the Italian tradition in the XVII century — Rubens and Teniers and Lebrun. But their failure to understand tapestry technique and their efforts to compel weavers to copy models closely, did great harm to the art of tapestry weaving. Tapestry texture is not suited for the expression of large expanses of nude flesh, open sky and water, and deep shadows. These and the production of illusion by direct imitation of nature are the province of the painter and the photographer. Even when successfully accomplished on the loom, the result is transitory and the colours fleeting because too delicate. Tapestry texture is suited for the presentation on a large scale of richly clothed personages back- grounded with contrasting patterns. Strong con- trasts of light and shade it does not need because it utilises line contrast to the utmost. For that reason it is able to employ strong colours, blending them HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 237 together and inspiring scenes with life by hatching and line stippling. Tapestry texture is also suited for the presenta- tion of flowers and foliage, and of the rinceaux and the Grotesque (miscalled Arabesque) ornament, bor- rowed by the Renaissance Italians from Ancient Rome. Illustrations of the former are the Gothic mille-fleur and verdure tapestries, of the latter the decorative compositions of the XVI century copied and developed so skilfully at the end of the XVII century by Claude Audran and Noel Coypel. Another form of patterned background interesting in tapestry — moderately so — are the damasse and festooned mats of Charles Coypel's Don Quixote, and Francois Boucher's Classic Series, at the Gobelins. The Golden Age of arras weaving is the last half of the XV century and the first half of the XVI century, while the Gothic influence was still power- ful with the French-Flemish weavers who had devel- oped and exalted the art to the highest point. Un- doubtedly steps were being taken in the right direc- tion in the XIII century or perhaps even earlier. Evidences of this are the fragments from the Church of Saint Gereon in Cologne, fragments now preserved in the South Kensington, the Lyons, and the Nurem- berg museums. But of arras that tells stories, and is important as a form of literary expression, we have no important examples earlier than the XIV century and few earlier than the XV century. The famous XI century Bayeux tapestry is not a tapestry at all but an embroidery. 238 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN HIGH WARP AND LOW WARP Tapestry is a broad word. It means one thing in a wall-paper shop and another in a carpet and rug store. One thing among makers of painted tapestry and another among makers of embroidered tapestry. One thing among jacquard and power and shuttle weavers, another among manipulators of high warp and low warp looms. There are also printed imita- tions of arras tapestries. By general consent and established usage, the term real tapestry is reserved for high warp and low warp products. But until now general consent and established usage have not put into print a clear and comprehensive statement of how high warp and low warp tapestries differ from other textiles and from each other. First, as regards the looms. Both high warp and low warp antedate the shuttle. In other words they use bobbins that travel only part way across the warp, instead of shuttles that travel all the way across. The shuttle is a mechanical invention — a box or carriage for the bobbin which enables it to be thrown intead of passed, thus increasing the working range of the weft. The high warp loom not only antedated the shuttle, it also antedated the treadle. In the low warp loom, the odd threads of the warp are attached to a treadle worked with the left foot, the even threads of the warp to a treadle worked with the right foot, thus making possible the manipulation of the warp with the HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 239 feet, and leaving both hands free to pass the bobbins. In the high warp loom, that has no treadle, the warps are manipulated with the left hand, while the right hand passes the bobbins back and forth. The high warp loom, then, is all-hand -power, the low warp loom hand-and-foot power. The term high warp means that the warp is strung vertically; low warp, horizontally. But the fundamental difference is the treadles, and many primitive all-hand-power looms have a horizontal warp. The high warp loom is not only the primitive loom that naturally developed among widely separated peoples for the figuring of textiles. It is also the loom that gives the weaver the most complete control over each point of his work, thus putting the artistic result up to him most completely. What the low warp loom gains in width of pass, it loses in com- pleteness of control, and in lack of ability to watch the work from the other side as it progresses. Both high warp and low warp tapestries are woven with the wrong side toward the weaver — the wrong side that in all real tapestries is just the same as the right side, except for reversal of direction (as in a mirror), and for the loose threads that mark the passage of bobbins from block to block of the same colour (See colour plate no. IV). In both high warp and low warp looms, wall tapestries are woven on the side in order that the ribs, which of course, like the warps, are vertical or the long way on the loom, may be horizontal on the wall. This is a part of the technique and texture of arras tapes- 240 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN try, and not merely for ease of weaving as the majority of tapestry weavers and some tapestry designers seem to think. In the high warp loom, the outline of the design is traced on the warp threads in India ink from tracing paper, and the coloured cartoon hangs be- hind the weaver where he consults it constantly. In the low warp loom the coloured cartoon is usually beneath the warp and often rolls up with the tapes- try as it is completed. But sometimes in copying tapestries, and usually at Beauvais where an im- proved low warp loom is used that can be tilted up during the progress of the work tracings of the design take the place of the cartoon beneath the warp, and the colours are put in by the weaver referring to a model behind him. Anciently in the low warp loom, the cartoon was inserted in narrow strips, each strip being removed as completed. On the low warp loom commonly employed, it is not possible to see the right side of the tapestry until it is completed and taken from the loom. On the high warp loom all you have to do is go around in front of the loom. Of course, on both looms, small portions of the right side of the tapestry can be studied through the warp with the aid of mirrors. Especially worth noting is the fact that the low warp loom reverses the direction of the cartoon placed beneath its warp. So that either the cartoon must be painted left-handed, or the tapestry will come out that way. With weavers of average intelligence and modern ■ . ' " niffin^HUmflirii : , ;:iJwHinin««Hni)iBUHii HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 241 training, the low warp loom is much to be preferred, especially for the reproduction of paintings in the Italian Renaissance, XVIII century French or Modern styles. At the Gobelins in the XVII century Lebrun preferred high warp looms for the first inter- pretation of his great Story of the King, and his Royal Residences. If we ever get down in earnest to the weaving of modern tapestries in arras texture, we shall, like William Morris, go back to the high warp looms, and once more compose line drawings in wool and gold and silver, with little silk or none at all. The phrase haute lisse (high warp) first appears on March 10, 1302, in an addition to the ordinances regulating the trades of the city of Paris. This addition states that discord had arisen between the tapissiers sarrazinois (Saracen tapestry-makers) and another kind of tapestry-makers called workers on the haute lisse, the former claiming that the latter could not and ought not to work in the city of Paris until they had taken oath like themselves to hold and keep all the ordinances of the Guild of Saracen Tapestry Makers, inasmuch as the two trades were similar. They also claimed that the haute-lisse workers, not being organised, escaped the payment of fines, so that the King's interests suffered, and also the interests of many other good people, because the haute-lisse masters worked by night and turned out in consequence work that was "neither good nor sufficient." In response to this complaint, the haute- lisse masters were ordered to join the Guild of Saracen 242 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Tapestry Makers, and ten of the former (with the approval of an eleventh) and six of the latter ap- peared and agreed in behalf of their respective trades to adhere to all the provisions of the ordi- nances. It was further provided that the haute-lisse masters might take apprentices for a period of eight years and on payment of ioo Parisian sous of silver, but not for a less period or smaller amount, and might work on their haute-lisse looms only as long as they could see by daylight without a candle. Embroidered work was to be considered as false. And to see to the enforcement of the ordinances were appointed : one master from the trade of Saracen, or a la merche (treadle), tapestry, and another master from the haute-lisse, or a la besche (broche), tapestry. M. Guiffrey regards the tapissiers sarrazinois as makers of pile rugs after the Oriental fashion. It is with great hesitation that I venture to differ from such an eminent authority, but I find it impossible to accept his view although many others have accepted it. I agree with him that the tapissiers nostrez (our tapestry-makers) named in the ordi- nances compiled about 1250 by Etienne Boileau, Mayor of Paris, in his Livre des Metiers, are weavers of coarse twills, ingrains, and other shuttle fabrics, plain and patterned, for covering floors and walls and furniture. But the tapissiers sarrazinois I believe to be makers of treadle (that is to say low-warp) tapestry, as is distinctly stated in the addition to the ordinances quoted from and summarised above. The phrase a la besche tapestry that is stated — ' — ' — ..■.■. !1 ..- ! ..-..^ : ..... i .^T V f V *v , '"^ T^t— yTT:"TTT:'T:":T"i *-I1Ij]; HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 243 to be synonymous with haute-lisse tapestry I also regard as very interesting and significant. While the most obvious difference in the appearance of high-warp and low-warp looms depends upon the vertical position of the warp of the former as com- pared with the horizontal position of the warp of the latter, the real and fundamental difference depends upon the fact that the low-warp loom has treadles and the high-warp has not, and also that the bobbin of the high-warp loom {broche it is called at the Gobelins) is pointed for use in pressing home the weft, while the flute, as it is called at Beauvais (flute or bobbin elsewhere), of the low-warp loom is blunt and is not used as a tool. Besche I take it (without elaborating my reasons here) is the Old French word that corresponds to broche. I should judge, from a careful survey of the ordinances and the addition to them, that the haute-lisse workers were new-comers to Paris, perhaps from French Flanders, or at least men who were practising a kind of weaving then new to Paris. Certainly if the phrase a la merche (treadle) tapestry used in the addition to the ordinances (but found only in the manuscript of the Bibliotheque Nationale, man. fr. 24069, fol. 241, and not in the manuscript of the Archives Nationales, KK 1336, fol. 145 V°) to describe the work of the tapissiers sarrazinois, is a part of the original document or was added by one who knew, then the tapissiers sarrazinois cannot be weavers of pile rugs, in the Oriental fashion. For the Oriental rug loom has 244 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN a vertical warp without treadles. At this point, it is interesting to note that while the period of ap- prenticeship of the Guild of Tapissiers Sarrazinois was eight years that of the Guild of Tapissiers Nostrez was only four; also that both Guilds were restricted to the use of woollen thread except that the tapissiers nostrez might use any other material in the selvage, and that while the tapissiers nostrez used plain yarn the tapissiers sarrazinois must use twisted yarn (two or more strands). Regarding the identity of tapissiers sarrazinois, the Flemish phrase, sarazinooswerkes metier maertse (Saracen workers with treadle), used in a French charter of Philip the Good, dated November 5, 1441, to explain the French phrase sarrazinois tapissiers, is significant, as is also the phrase found in certain weavers' guild statutes assembled about 1460, dat elc saergenoyswercker werckende up H ghetauwe metier maertse (that every Saracen worker working on the treadle loom). (For both references see page 61 of Pinchart Generate.) When speaking of Coptic tapestries I should also have called attention to the Peruvian tapestries of which there are important collections in the New York Museum of Natural History, the Boston Fine Arts Museum, and several European museums. These Peruvian tapestries, exhumed like the Coptics from ancient graves, date from probably the XVI century, though some of them may be earlier. Like the Coptics they were woven on small looms or frames, with bobbins that were sent not only per- ■w^ — — < ..,„.,.... HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 245 pendicularly across the warp, but also twisted diagonally around pairs of warps to outline figures and ornament. An interesting feature of some Peruvian tapestries is the introduction of open-work loose weave in parts. This suggests the open-work backgrounds of some Norwegian tapestries ancient and modern. Other real tapestries coarsely figured — some ribbed and some with such large coarse soft weft that the surface is flat — are Navajo blankets, Mexican serapes, Oriental kelims, etc., etc. THE PROCESS OF WEAVING The process of tapestry weaving is most interest- ing. The loom and tools necessary are surprisingly simple. In fact for a tiny tapestry a square em- broidery frame with needles and comb is sufficient. But for large tapestries a powerful loom is needed to withstand the strain of hundreds of taut warp threads. One of the earliest forms of the tapestry loom had the warp threads attached to a roller above and individually weighted below to keep them taut. This was the Homeric loom and also the primitive Scandinavian loom. It was extremely slow and inconvenient. The so-called high warp loom with two rollers, one below as well as one above, was a great improvement. On the high warp loom the left hand separates the warp threads to form the shed through which the right hand must guide the weft spool or bobbin. 246 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Finally it occurred to some unknown genius to set the feet at work. He tipped the old loom over into a horizontal position, and accomplished the separation of the warp threads by means of two treadles. This left both hands free to manipulate the bobbins. The use of the low warp loom has been general since the beginning of the XVI century. In the XVII century, it was used exclusively at Mortlake in England, and at the works established in Paris by Henri IV. At the Gobelins the haute lisse and basse lisse worked side by side in friendly rivalry during the reign of Louis XIV, and until 1825, when the low warp looms were sent to the other Govern- ment tapestry works at Beauvais. According to Monsieur E. Gerspach, in his ' Tapisseries des Gobelins ' ' published in 1 893 : ' ' The haute lisse was re- tained at the Gobelins, doubtless because it presented a better appearance and being used only at the Gobe- lins, they did not wish to entirely discard a method handed down from antiquity." A visit to the tapestry works at Williamsbridge, in New York City, is most interesting. Here in a city that is crowded with machinery and steam engines and electric motors, and in a country that, on account of its success with machinery, has neglected things artistic, we find what has not unjustly been called "the most important art industry in America." Here there are no noisy pulleys and creaking shafts to deafen the ear. Here everything is done by hand, and quiet reigns though industry thrives. The a:^ n^nn^iiii^ii^iiiir^^iwuiMiBiniiir^iiiii^i! TAPESTRY LOOM PLATE no. 247. Above, miniature model of a Williamsbridge loom. Below, from the weaver's point of view, showing pillows, bobbins, small comb, large comb, awl, scissors. 248 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN number of looms is 36, and each loom accommodates from two to four weavers. Of the general form and principal parts of the loom, the illustration of the model on plate no. 247 gives a good idea. The warp consists of parallel tightly spun threads of wool or cotton wound around the two rollers. The nearerrollerisheld by a ratchet wheel. The other roller is held by friction against the lashed-together cross- bars. This primitive and ancient method is superior to any that moderns have been able to devise, giving evenness of tension combined with elasticity. As the weaving advances the finished portion of the tapestry rolls up around the nearer roller, against which the weaver leans as he works. Underneath the loom are the treadles, one of each pair to depress the odd threads of the warp, the other to depress the even threads. The illustration on plate no. 249 shows the weavers at work. The one in the foreground is passing the bobbin with his right hand, while the thumb of his left hand elevates the threads beneath which the bobbin passes. The weaver on the left is making a pass in the reverse direction, from left to right, and the bobbin in his right hand is clearly visible. In front of each are two sets of lisses that separate the warp threads at the will of the weaver, as ex- pressed through the treadles. It will be noticed that of the two sets of vertical cords or lisses in front of the weaver on the right, the nearer is raised, lifting with it the odd threads of the warp, while the other mm Hli'.iMiUrilHifl O .2 250 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN is depressed, carrying down the even threads of the warp. These two sets of lisses being attached to opposite ends of the same cross-piece above, must necessarily work in unison, the pulling down of one set forcing the other set up. One set is, of course, attached below to the weaver's right treadle, the other to the left. For every thread of the warp there is a separate lisse or heddle cord, with eyelet in the middle through which the warp thread passes. The manner in which the lisses are woven, with eyelets formed by cords looping around each other, is very ingenious, and is illustrated on plate no. 251. On the frame is shown a set of lisses partially com- pleted, while hanging at the right is a set of lisses ready for use. The lisses being woven are so held on the three rods that their shape and position relative to one another can easily be made out. The rod in the middle passes through all the loops, just as each warp thread on the big loom passes through one pair of loops. On the .same plate two weavers are shown in the act of threading the warp through the lisses, one weaver busying himself with the lisses that carry the odd warp threads, the other weaver with the lisses that carry the even warp threads. The weaver on the right is just passing a warp thread through the eyelet formed by a pair of loops, lifting the lower loop and depressing the upper loop. It will be noticed in this illustration that the ends of the warp threads are knotted together in groups of twenty, making a series of loops. A long brass rod passed uuinHisniffinisni THE LISSES PLATE no. 251. Above, Weaving the Lisses; below, Threading the Lisses. See chapter VIII under the Process of Weaving. 252 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN through these loops attaches them firmly to the big roller, in a slot of which they are held as shown in the illustration of the model loom on plate no. 247. The tools of the weaver are few and simple — spool, bobbin, mirror, awl, heavy comb of ivory or boxwood with long teeth close together; small metal comb, or grattoir, with tiny teeth far apart. The pillow softens the hardness of the roller for the weaver as he leans against it (See plate no. 247). "But where, " the reader familiar with the Raphael cartoons at the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington, is probably asking, "where are the painted models that the weavers follow?" That I was unable to secure a photograph, showing the cartoon in position on the loom, I regret. The cartoon though clearly seen by the weaver through the warp, eludes the photographer, for it is under the loom, just beneath the warp to which it is attached face up, while the tapestry above it is woven face down, so that the two faces face each other. The cartoon rolls up as the completed tapestry rolls up but separately from it and below it. The light from the sky windows above illuminates through the warp the cartoon, as well as the mirror by means of which alone can the weaver see what he has done. The actual process of tapestry weaving is sim- plicity itself. The weaver passes the bobbin to the left as far as that particular colour continues in the cartoon, beneath the odd warp threads, nos. !> 3> 5. 7> etc., and back beneath the even warp threads. On its way out the bobbin or weft thread ■M"l.'l"( ■^ wmmmmwm DYEING PLATE no. 253. The Dye Materials and the Dyeing Room at Williamsbridge. The Dye Materials illustrated are madder, cochineal, blue vitriol, gall nuts, alum, tartar, indigo, orseille, bois jaune. 254 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN covers the lower or face side of the odd threads and on its way back the face of the even threads. Then with his comb the weaver presses the weft home firmly against the part of the tapestry already completed. He is really embroidering, except that his foundation is not a cloth complete with warp and weft, but a set of warp threads only, and except that his stitches are all parallel to each other and perpendicular to the warp. The bob- bin is used as a matter of convenience because it carries more thread than a needle. It is really nothing more than a large needle, without a point because a point is unnecessary in low warp weaving. The threads of the weft are much finer and softer than those of the warp, and have to be dyed with ex- treme care. To use aniline dyes, which are employed generally for machine-made textiles, would be fatal to the permanence of the colours and to the durability of the tapestries. The dye materials are cochineal, madder, bois rouge, indigo, orseille, bois jaune, alum, tartar, blue vitriol, and gall-nuts. With these materials, which are illustrated on plate no. 253, every desirable tint and shade of colour can be secured. To the life of tapestry dyed with vegetable dyes, it is hard to set a limit. XVI century Oriental rugs are few in number and usually much damaged by age and wear. But of XVI century tapestries there are many in private collections as well as in European museums. nisiJiniJtnin^niiiiiniHniJiiiniiiniijyii CHAPTER IX Designs and Cartoons Portraits in Tapestries. Counterfeit Arras. Animals in Tapestries. Verdures The best tapestry designs for a century and a half — I almost wrote three centuries — are those produced by Burne-Jones and Morris and Dearie for the works at Merton (See chapter IX). The division of labour was an important feature. The figures were by Burne-Jones, the grounds and borders and colour schemes by Morris and Dearie. Each did what he knew best — Burne-Jones the creative composition and personages, his two associates the ornament and foliage. What was most significant of all, the interpretation of the designs was in the hands of Morris and Dearie — the practical weavers — from beginning to end. There was no attempt to express in wool and silk what can be expressed only in paint. Burne-Jones prepared drawings 15 or 20 inches high from actual figure studies. These slightly tinted drawings were enlarged by photography and submitted to him, together with small colour sketches prepared by Morris and Dearie. On the photographic enlargements Burne-Jones worked up the heads and hands, but without touching the ornament at all. 255 256 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Also, in putting the cartoons and colour sketches on the loom, considerable liberty was allowed to the weaver in the choice and arrangement of tints and shading. This method I regard as the perfect one for pro- ducing masterpieces of picture tapestry. In essen- tials, it resembles the method employed by the great Gothic and Renaissance tapestry factories. Then the petits patrons that came from the great painter were translated into grands patrons by artists trained in tapestry technique, and the grands patrons were translated into arras on the loom by weavers trained to substitute tapestry convention- alities for paint conventionalities, under the direction of managers whose reputation and business success depended upon their ability to produce tapestries that utilised to the utmost the wonderful possibilities of tapestry texture. Small colour sketches (petits patrons) of the kind used in the XV century, are those illustrating the Trojan War (See chapter XII), now in the Louvre, from which were produced the Bayard and Aulhac, and Zamora Trojan War tapestries. Large colour cartoons (grands patrons) are the Toiles Peintes of Reims (See Reims Peintes in chapter XV), the Raphael Cartoons in the Victoria and Albert Museum (See chapter III), and Mantegna's Triumphs of Caesar at Hampton Court. That the nine paintings of the XV century Italian artist Mantegna were what they look like — cartoons for tapestry — is clear from a letter dated December "T SAINT LUKE PLATE no. 257. Saint Luke Painting the Virgin. Late Gothic tapestry in the Louvre after the painting of Rogier Van Der Weyden in the Munich Museum, of which there is a duplicate in the Boston Fine Arts Museum. The tapestry reverses the direction of the painting (with the necessary modification of St. Luke's hands), and is much richer in details, mostly such as were often added by tapestry weavers of the period. Note the name S. lucas on the scroll behind the patron saint of painters. 258 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN 27, 1519, received by the famous Venetian amateur Marc-Antonio Michiel from his correspondent in Rome, and quoted on page 5 of Muentz Vatican. The letter says in part : "They [the seven Acts of the Apostles tapestries just finished and first shown the day before] were adjudged to be the most beautiful work of the kind ever done up to our time, in spite of the fame of other tapestries — those in the ante-chamber of Pope Julius II, those of the Marquis of Mantua after the cartoons of Mantegna, and those of the kings Alphonse and Frederick of Naples." The Triumphs of Caesar was considered to be Mantegna's masterpiece not only by his contempo- raries and posterity but also by Mantegna himself. In a letter from Rome dated January 31, 1489 — quoted in part on page 272 of the English edition of Paul Kristeller's Andrea Mantegna, London, 1901 — he commends the paintings to the especial care of the Marquis of Mantua and asks "that the windows be mended so that they may take no harm, for truly I am not ashamed of having made them, and hope to make more if God and your Excellency please." The Marquis answered on February 25: "We would remind you that you still have work here to finish for us, and especially the Triumphs, which, as you say, are a worthy work and which we should willingly see completed." He adds that arrangements have been made for their preservation, because he is himself proud of having them in his house. HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 259 They were shown to distinguished guests, among them Duke Hercules of Ferrara in i486, and to Giovanni di Medici in 1494. In 1492 Mantegna was presented with a large country estate "for the admirable works he had painted in the chapel and in the chamber of the castle, and for the Triumphs of Caesar he is now painting for us in pictures which almost live and breathe. As once in antiquity Hiero gained lustre from Archimedes, Alexander from Apelles and Lysippus, Augustus from Vitruvius, so now has the house of Gonzaga attained undying renown by the works of Mantegna, and wishes on that account to reward the artist with princely generosity." Over a century later, in an inventory of 1627, the paintings are named as being in the Galleria della Mostra, and they are valued at 150 scudi each, altogether 8,100 lire. In that year Daniel Nys bought from the Duke, for 68,000 Mantuan scudi, works of art to enrich the collections of King Charles I of England. He was much censured because the Triumphs was not among them and opened fresh negotiations. The Duke held off at first and de- manded 20,000 doubloons, "a clear sign that he did not wish to part with them." Finally he let them go to Nys, together with a number of statues, for £10,500. King Charles was not pleased with the bargain and held up the bills until May 15, 1629, when Nys received the Lord Treasurer's promise to pay and a command to send the objects purchased from Venice to England by ship. The nine cartoons 260 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN were valued by the Commonwealth, in 1 651, at £1,000 and, like the Raphael cartoons, were selected by Cromwell for the decoration of Hampton Court. In 1653 they were ordered copied by Gilbert Picker- ing (see chapter V under Mortlake), and the tapes- tries woven from them were later purchased by Charles II. In the case of Raphael's Acts of the Apostles, and Mantegna's Triumphs of Ccesar, the grands patrons appear to have been the handiwork of the painter himself. But more often in the XV and XVI cen- turies the artist parted company with his designs in the form of petits patrons. Often, too, at the Gobe- lins the same procedure was followed, Lebrun making rough and incomplete sketches that his subordinates worked out in detail and full scale. Among XVIII century instances of the same procedure was the exe- cution by Dumons of the cartoons from Boucher's small sketches for the Chinese set. The name "counterfeit arras" tells its own story. It was a cheap substitute, in the XV and XVI cen- turies and since, for real arras — painted or stained, instead of woven. It occurs frequently in inventories side by side with the real arras. Probably most of the counterfeit arras in the early days was "grands patrons," pulled from the seclusion of the weaving- room to decorate the walls of rooms and houses that could not afford real arras. Nowadays, ignorance of processes is so general that newspapers and maga- zines are constantly giving space to descriptions of painted tapestry "as a new invention calculated to 7TT wmm THE NATIVITY OF THE VIRGIN PLATE no. 261. The Nativity of the Virgin. Gothic-Renaissance tapestry in the Cathedral of Reims, 5.10 metres by 4.80. One of a set of 17 illustrating the Story of the Virgin, presented to the Cathedral in 1530 by the Archbishop Robert de Lenoncourt whose coat of arms appears on all the tapestries, portrait on the tapestry that pictures the Nativity of Our Lord, dedicatory verses on the one that pictures the Death of the Virgin. More about the series in the chapter on Gothic Tapestries. 262 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN supersede the real gobelins," and a New York dealer founded a business — for a time very successful — based upon the fraud. Portraits in tapestries, as in stained-glass windows, have always been a favourite way of associating donors with events of historic and religious impor- tance. In chapter III we saw Francois de Taxis immortalise himself, in company with Charles V and Ferdinand I, in the Notre Dame du Sablon tapes- tries. In the Burgundian Seven Sacraments, at the Metropolitan Museum, the donors are almost cer- tainly the lord and lady pictured in the XV century Baptism and Marriage scenes. In the Angers Apoc- alypse (See chapter II) at least one of the full-length figures is the Duke of Anjou. On the last panel of the Story of Saint Remi, at Reims (See chapter II), appears the donor, Archbishop Robert de Lenon- court, kneeling before an altar. On the tapestries picturing the Story of the Virgin, at Beaune, are portraits of the two donors. Very different these contemporary portraits in historic stories, from contemporary portraits in con- temporary stories, like that of Francis I in the Pavia set (See chapter XII), and Louis XIV in the Story of the King (See chapter VI, and plate no. 169 that pictures Louis XIV visiting the Gobelins), or the equestrian portrait of Charles VIII in the Schickler Collection, illustrated in Guiffrey Seizieme, that bears the Latin inscription: Carolus invicti Ludovici filius ollim Parthenopem domuit saliens sicut Hannibal. !iw!ft»nimnni3tim9M 264 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Immensely interesting are the animals so generally- introduced into Gothic and Flemish Renaissance picture tapestries. In verdures, of course, like the Lady with the Unicorn set at the Cluny Museum, we might naturally expect dogs and rabbits and monkeys and foxes and birds, in addition to the lion and the unicorn. It is the casual introduction of an animal like the squirrel in the Esther and Ahasuerus scene of the Mazarin tapestry, or the dog so often used to fill out foregrounds, to which I would call particular attention. Gothic verdures with personages were one of the most delightful forms of story-telling art. Ground and figures alike were alive with action and interest. There was no spotting of high-lights, as in the Renaissance and later verdures, for the production of which Audenarde and Enghien became known. Gothic verdures were actual forests, backgrounding animals and personages. Renaissance verdures en- larged the verdure and shaded-leaf details toward realism in such a way as to produce the effect of complete artificiality and formal pattern. Of Gothic verdures the Baillee des Roses at the Metropolitan Museum, is a fair example; of Renaissance ver- dures the two "cabbage-leaf" panels framed in glass at the head of the stairs in the Decorative Arts Wing, and the very interesting Children Playing verdures made in Enghien, one of which is illus- trated on plate no. 265. Verdures of the XVIII century and modern type — " leaf-and-flower pieces used to eke out a set of ■■in in' Him ii i 'ii'iiiiiiiii mi urn 266 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN figure-pieces" (See chapter V, under Merton) — are hardly worth doing at all in tapestry. The same effect can be got at less cost by printing wall-paper or cretonne, or by maching-weaving. William Mor- ris said: "Tapestry is not fit for anything but figure- work." I should amend this to read: "Tapestry is particularly suited for figure-work with decorative borders, and for furniture-coverings." r _ _ _ "HIPTCftr.HjCTJH^^ CHAPTER X Tapestry Signatures and Makers Tapestry Captions. Tapestry Borders. Tapestry Shapes and Sizes and Measurements The majority of Gothic tapestries are anonymous as regards both maker and designer. It was a rare bit of good fortune — and brilliant investigative work on the part of M. Jules GuifTrey — that determined for us the names of Nicolas Bataille and Hennequin de Bruges as authors of the Angers Apocalypse. Seldom do we find woven signatures like that of Pierrot Fere in the Saint Piat and Saint Eleuthere set at Tournai (See chapter II); or an inscription that gives the place of manufacture like that on the last of the set of fourteen, made for a church in Salins (Jura), picturing the life and miracles of Saint Anatoile. The inscription comes down to us in an inventory dated 1646, only two of the set being still preserved in the Salins Museum, and a third in the Museum of the Gobelins, the rest having been des- troyed in 1793. The inscription reads: "These fourteen pieces of tapestry were at Burges [Bruges] made and constructed in the year of incarnation according to our usage 1501 — and were for Saint Anatoile, Bishop of Constantinople, son of the King of Scotland." The inscription in the bottom border 267 268 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN of the Davillier Triumph of the Virgin at the Louvre (See plate no. 269), gives only the date ACTU(M) A(O) 1485 (Made in the year 1485). Sometimes, by comparison with attributed paintings, we are able to identify the designer, as in the case of the "Saint Luke Painting the Virgin" tapestry at the Louvre, which is after Rogier Van Der Weyden's painting in Munich — but reversed, and with more decorative de- tails — of which there is a duplicate in the Boston Fine Arts Museum. There also appears to be no doubt that the two Herkinbald tapestry scenes at Berne were woven from the paintings executed by Van Der Weyden for the Brussels City Hall, and destroyed by the bombardment in 1695. With the Renaissance began the custom, in Brussels and other Flemish cities, of weaving the mark of the city into the bottom selvage, and the monogram of the weaver into the side selvage, on the right. This custom was confirmed by a Brussels ordinance of 1528, and by the edict of Charles V in 1544, that applied to the whole of the Netherlands. The following are a few characteristic marks and monograms: W BUB Willem Van Pannemaker, Brussels XVI century. Willem Van Geubels, Brussels XVI century. Brussels mark. ""' : ' imm £ .9 2 « to JB g "S fl 270 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN P<^ Paris mark, first half XVII century. T^On) Brussels mark. T^ Mark of Nancy in Lorraine. X* Frans Van Geubels, Brussels XVI century X Martin Reymbouts, Brussels late XVI century MA W Marc Cretif, Brussels XVI century. Oudenarde mark. Qv»/b Brussels mark. Ian Raes, early XVII century. H WD Mark of Dclft in Holland - w HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 271 Hans Van Der Biest, Munich XVII century. f* BIO j^ Enghien mark. Y%\[ Philip Van Der Cammen, late XVI century. f\J Antoine Leyniers, Brussels late XVI century. Mortlake mark, with monogram of Philip de Maecht on the left, and of Sir Francis Crane on the right. $ Modern Gobelin mark. P Mark of the Baumgarten works at Williams- PS bridge, with date below the shield. fa w /T* Alexandre de Comans, Paris, first half XVII Nicolas Karcher, Florence XVI century. Mortlake mark, the shield of Saint George. century. 272 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN X m Charles de Comans, Paris, first half XVII century. Philip de Maecht, Paris and Mortlake, XVII century. Tournai mark. jCfr^ Ian Van Der Cammen, last half XVI century. Unfortunately a majority of the monograms have not yet been identified, and no exhaustive compara- tive study of them has been made. So that the presence of a monogram is not as helpful now as it may become later. The custom of signing mono- grams lasted a little over a century — roughly until 1635 — when initials and full names in Roman letters took their place. Some of the later signatures are: JAN PERMENTERS. Brussels second half XVII century. I. V. ZEUNEN (or I. V. Z.). Brussels XVII century. V. LEYNIERS(UrbainLeyniers). XVII century. D. LEYNIERS. Brussels XVIII century. MA. RO. (Matthew Roelants). Brussels XVII century. I. LIEMANS. Brussels XVII century. I. V. BRVGGHEN. Brussels XVII century. PEETER. VANDER. BERGHEN. Brussels XVII century. HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 273 M. PROVOOST. Brussels XVII century. A. V. DRIES. Brussels XVII century. M. WAUTERS (or M.W.). XVII century. BESNIER ET OUDRY. A BEAUVAIS. Sig- nature of the artist Oudry and the manager Besnier at Beauvais, first half of the XVIII century. D. M. BEAUVAIS (De Menou). Beauvais last half XVIII century. P. FERLONI. F. ROJVLE MDCCXXXIX (P. Ferloni made at Rome in 1739). JAN LEYNIERS. Brussels second half XVII century. EVER/ERT LEYNIERS. Brussels second half XVII century. H. REYDAMS. Brussels second half XVII century. P. V. D. BORGHT. Brussels XVIII century. G. PEEM ANS (or G. P.) . Brussels XVI I century. D. EGGERMANS. Brussels XVII century. IUDOCUS. DE. VOS. Brussels Early XVIII century. G. V. D. STREECKEN. Brussels XVII century. GUILLAM. VAN LEEFDAEL. Brussels XVII century. COZETTE, 1765. Gobelins. AUDRAN, 1771. Gobelins. NEILSON EX. Gobelins XVIII century. I AC. D. L. RIV. (Jacques de la Riviere). Rome XVII century BEHAGLE (Philip Behagle). Beauvais last half XVII century. 274 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN An important feature of many story-tapestries are the captions. In the long, narrow bands of the XIV and XV centuries, they are often on scrolls that frame the personages (See plate no. 329). On many of the immense XV century panels, there are in- scriptions at the bottom in Latin or French, with names and other inscriptions in the field of the tapestry. In Renaissance historical and Biblical sets, the Latin captions usually occupied the middle of the top border. In the XVII century, cartouches occupied the middle of the top border and bottom border, the top cartouche carrying a coat of arms or a shadow oval, the bottom cartouche the descrip- tive caption, with sometimes another inscription in the side border. An extreme example of long in- scriptions is Charles V's Tunis set, with Spanish in the top border, and Latin in the bottom border. On the whole, captions tended to disappear from the panel of tapestries with the approach of the Renais- sance, and altogether with the increased dominance of paint style in the XVII century. But a very pleasing feature of Charles Coypel's XVIII century Don Quixote series are the descriptive captions in the lower part of the panel. Tapestry borders in the XIV century, there were none, and in the XV century, few before the last quarter. The brick wall with floriation surrounding the Burgundian Seven Sacraments at the Metropoli- tan Museum is a noteworthy exception. About 1475 narrow verdure borders became the fashion, and re- mained in vogue for half a century. Compartment ^raiiMraiaii HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 275 borders were first introduced by Raphael's Acts of the Apostles, the best examples of these borders being in the Royal Spanish Collection (See plate no. 89), and in the Mercury and Herse tapestries belonging to Mr. Blumenthal and the Duchess of Denia. Renaissance borders were much wider than those that preceded, and were especially rich in flowers and fruit and animal motifs. A splendid ex- ample is the border of the Roman Colosseum in the Metropolitan Museum, with birds in the top border, fish in the bottom border, and field and forest animals in the side borders. Of Renaissance borders I am tempted to say that often they are almost as interesting as Gothic ver- dure tapestries. With the XVII century borders began to be heavily shaded in imitation of frames carved in relief. To be sure, there had been inside shadows on two sides of the panel of some Renaissance tapestries, but it took Francis Cleyn — and Mortlake dyes that have blackened with time — to show how far this shadow tendency could be carried. At the Gobelins, too, they liked to show ornament in relief, and Gobelin XVII century colours — the shadow colours — also darkened with time, but less than the Mortlake ones. The Gobelin borders of the XVII and XVIII century are very distinctive and almost exclusively — after the first brilliant period under Lebrun — com- paratively narrow and not very interesting woven reproductions of gilt wooden frames. In the XVIII century, tapestries became smaller 276 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN and more intimate than in the XVII century — the Don Quixote series taking the place of Alexander the Great, and the Hunts of Louis XV of the Story of the King. This was merely a reversion to early precedent, for arras tapestries started small in the XIII century, and grew large as skill and taste de- veloped. In the XIV and XV centuries many sets of tapestry were woven of huge size, like the Angers Apocalypse, though perhaps sometimes in small pieces that were sewed together after weaving. At the end of the XV and beginning of the XVI century, a multitude of small tapestries was woven, side by side with lengthy sets of large pieces. What the XVI century could accomplish in the way of size, combined with perfection of technique, is illustrated by Charles V's Conquest of Tunis. In discussing the size of the tapestries, one should always remem- ber that small tapestries are just as much of an anomaly as large paintings. On a small scale paint is superior; on a large, tapestry. The best shape for tapestries is wide rather than high. The old unit of tapestry measurement was the aune (ell). The French aune was 46^ inches long, the Flemish ell 27 inches. The Flemish ell was used not only in the Netherlands and England, but often by Flemish weavers in measuring up their work at Beauvais and other French factories. In changing from Flemish to French ells, 7 French were figured as roughly equal to 12 Flemish, and 1 French square ell as equal to 3 square Flemish ells — the French square ell containing 48 sticks (stocks) or batons, ITO!!WM!I a « (a* 278 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN the Flemish square ell 16 batons, which was the square unit common to both systems. The units now in use are the English foot of 12 inches, and the French metre of 39.37 inches. For purposes of quick comparison multiply the number of metres by 3K to get feet, or by i7„ to get yards. .!!l!)il!!!Hl!l3I!IK CHAPTER XI The Bible in Tapestries Rich and wonderfully interesting are the tapestry illustrations of the Bible and the Lives of the Saints. For tapestries, unlike paintings, are best when large and in sets and crowded with romantic details. The mission of tapestries is story-telling. Tapestries begin at the beginning. The Creation is illustrated in a superb Brussels Late Gothic tapes- try, 13 feet 2 inches high by 26 feet 10 wide (See plate no. 281), one of a set of six picturing the Story of Man, in the Berwick and Alba Collection acquired by Baron d'Erlanger, and by him exhibited at Brussels in 1880. In the Creation the Trinity is represented, not as Father and Son with Holy Spirit in the form of a Dove, but as three crowned, richly robed and bearded kings who all look exactly alike and all appear in each one of seven scenes picturing the Creation and Fall. In the middle scene, in the upper part of the tapestry, the Trinity sit in Majesty, each with the Imperial Globe (Reichsapfel) and one with sceptre. In the other six scenes, all three have sceptres only. On one side of the Trinity in the middle scene is the angel of justice with sword, on the other the angel of mercy with lily-branch. Behind them the celestial choir. The composition and texture of the tapestry 279 280 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN are of extraordinary merit. The nature of the sub- ject and the manner of its treatment, as well as the costumes and flesh-tints, compel comparison with Mr. Morgan's Mazarin tapestry, with the Triumph of Christ in the Brussels Museum, and with the David and Bathsheba set in the Cluny Museum. The border is a narrow verdure of the kind characteristic of Brussels at the beginning of the XVI century. The tapestry is now in the Chateau de Haar, Belgium, where are also two others of the set — the Crucifixion with Vices and Virtues in Combat, the Triumph of Christ. The sixth of the set, the Last Judgment, is in the Louvre. In the Cathedral of Burgos are two tapestries that supplement the set of six, thus making an original set of at least eight. All are illustrated in half-tone in the Burlington Magazine for January, 191 2, by D. T. B. Wood, who analyses them and compares them most interestingly with pieces in the Cathedral of Narbonne, the Vatican, Hampton Court, Knole, and the Cathedral of Toledo (formerly). There is a fragment of the Creation containing the middle grouping only, in a New York private collection. The Story of the Garden of Eden is pictured in a set of Renaissance tapestries in the Florence Tapestry Museum, one of which I reproduce on plate 19. The contrast between the Creation tapestry, de- scribed above, and the Eden tapestry is striking. The former is typically Gothic and Flemish, the latter typically Renaissance and Italian. The bor- ders also are characteristic. — ■ ~»«-¥ insniaswKniRisffinssiii 282 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Other Old Testament tapestries reproduced in this book are: the Story of Judith and Holofernes, on plate no. 347 ; a scene from the Book of Kings, 10 1 ; the Story of Esther, 403; Crossing the Red Sea, 349» 97; Joshua helped by Jehovah over the Jordan; Susanna and the Elders, 325; Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, 29. Especially interesting from both story and tex- ture points of view is the Late Gothic set of ten tapestries at the Cluny Museum picturing the Story of David (See plates nos. 283, 285). The subjects are: 1. David has the ark transported to Jerusalem. 2. Bathsheba at the Fountain, seen by David. 3. Bathsheba's husband Uriah sent on a mission to Joab. 4. Joab's army prepares to assault the city of Rabath. 5. Capture of Rabath by Joab's army, and Uriah's death. 6. David in the midst of courtiers, learns of Joab's victory and Uriah's death. 7. David receives Bathsheba in solemn state. 8. David learns of the death of Bathsheba's baby and humbles himself before the Almighty. 9. David in the midst of his army receives the crown and insignia of royalty captured at Rabath. 10. Repentance of David. The tapestries, 15 feet high and from 19 feet 4 to 26 feet 9 wide, are rich with gold and silver. They are said to have been woven for the King of France, m 284 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN once belonged to the Duke of York, to the family of Spinola, and to the Serra family of Genoa. Another favourite Old Testament subject was the Story of Esther. Unlike some other Old Testament stories, this remained a favourite long after the Gothic period, throughout the whole of the XVII and XVIII centuries. It is pictured not only in one XV century tapestry in the Hoentschel Collection (See plate no. 403), but also on the right wing of the Mazarin tapestry (See plate no. 369), and of the Triumph of Christ (See plate no. 370), and on the left wing of Mr. Blumenthal's Story of Charlemagne (See plate no. 371), and in the set of 7 pieces de- signed by De Troy (See chapter VI) for the Gobelins. The subjects of the De Troy different scenes, that were designed from 1737 to 1740 and woven over and over again during the next 50 years, are: the Fainting of Esther, the Coronation of Esther, the Toilet of Esther, the Triumph of Mordecai, the Banquet of Esther, the Disdain of Mordecai, the Condemnation of Haman. Especially popular in the XVI century was the Story of Abraham, of which there is a set of ten in the Imperial Austrian Collection signed by Willem Van Pannemaker, a set of seven in the Royal Spanish Collection signed by Willem Van Pannemaker, and a set of eight at Hampton Court. The three sets, borders and all, are from the same cartoons. The full set was still at Hampton Court in 1548 when an inventory was taken of Henry VIIFs effects: "Tenne peces of newe arras of thistorie of Abraham." In ■ ^in^?8nin;j;!}{^iiJ!!r i ji!r,i;jjiiiiniiiiiH{j!iiriaiiiiisiiiiRai PLATE no. 285. Part of a Story of David tapestry at the Cluny Museum, the second in the set of ten. In this tapestry that is 4.52 metres by 8.16 Uriah summoned by King David returns from the army, receives from the hand of the King a message for Joab, and taking leave of his wife Bathsheba sets forth. The part of the tapestry reproduced on this page is the upper left corner and gives a view of David and Bathsheba (david, bersabe) behind the scenes. 286 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN the Charles I Inventory of 1649, they were appraised at £10 a yard, amounting to a total of £8,260, and were not sold but retained for the use of Cromwell. The Spanish set formerly belonged to Charles V's daugh- ter, Jeanne, and numbered only seven in the inventory made at the time of her death in 1570. The Austrian set has in the upper part of the panel, on the right and on the left, the Lorraine coat of arms with the Cardinal's hat of Duke Charles of Lorraine-Vaude- mont, who died in 1587. The borders are divided into compartments with porticoes, after the fashion of the borders on the set of Raphael's Acts of the Apostles in the Royal Spanish Collection. The story of each tapestry is told in a Latin inscription on a goat's hide in the middle of the top border. The inscriptions read as follows: (1) God appears to Abraham, who by God's command leaves his country, builds an altar, worships God. (2) Sarah stolen by the Egyptians is restored with gifts. God shows Abraham the land of Canaan. (3) In order to avoid strife, Abraham allowed Lot to choose the place of his habitation. Abraham lives in Canaan, Lot goes to Sodom. (4) Abraham returning from the slaughter of the four kings was met by Melchize- dech, King of Salem, and priest of the Most High God, who offered him bread and wine. (5) God appears to Abraham and promises him a son. Sarah laughs. Abraham makes intercession for Sodom, that with other cities is destroyed by fire from Heaven. (6) Hagar is cast forth with her son. Abraham gives them food and drink, but the boy 288 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN suffers from thirst and Hagar laments. She is consoled by an angel and Ishmael becomes an archer. (7) Abraham, by the divine oracle, is commanded to sacrifice his only son Isaac. (8) Eliezer swore, beneath the thigh of his master Abraham, that he would not accept a wife for Isaac from the daughters of the Canaanites but from his own kin, and taking camels and gifts he went off into Mesopotamia. (9) And when he had come to the fountain and Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel, had given to him asking a drink from her pitcher, and had drawn water for the camels, he knew by the oracle that she was to be wife to the son of Abraham. (10) Sarah dies. Abraham buys a field for her sepulchre, marries another wife, dies, is buried. The Story of Moses received special attention in the Imperial Austrian Collection, which has one XVIII century unsigned set of six pieces; one XVII century set of six signed with the Brussels mark and either IAN LEYNIERS or EVERAERT LEY- NIERS; one XVII century set of seven pieces signed with the Brussels mark and either IAN PERM EN- TIERS or H. REYDAMS; one XVI century set of nine pieces signed with the Lorraine double cross (which marks the place of weaving as Nancy, capital of Lorraine), and with the monograms of two of the weavers who signed the Gonzaga set of the Acts of the Apostles. Some of the same cartoons were used in the first XVII century as in the XVI century Moses set. The XVI century set is illustrated com- plete in Birk Austrian. It is one of the most beauti- mm mwm THE VIRGIN PLATE no. 289. The Perfections of the Virgin, one of the Gothic-Renaissance set at the Cathedral of Reims picturing the Story of the Virgin in 17 pieces, presented by Archbishop Robert de Lenoncourt whose name and 1530 the date of completion appear in no. 16. His coat of arms appears on every piece. In the tapestry illustrated above, the Virgin is busy at a tapestry loom — an all-hand one (See chapter VTII) — and has a pointed bobbin (broche) in her right hand. Supporting the columns on each side of her, are unicorns, the fabulous animal symbolic of chastity. Note the Gothx verdure ground with animals below, and the band of Renaissance rinceaux with fleurs-de-lis and winged heads above. 290 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN ful sets ever woven, with compartment borders after the style of the Vatican Acts of the Apostles side borders, and with the arms of Lorraine in the top of the left border and of Lorraine-Denmark in the top of the right border. The double cross of Lor- raine also appears several times on the drum in the foreground of No. 4 of the set. The Story of each of the nine tapestries is told in three lines of Latin in the middle of the top border. Other Old Testament tapestries in the Imperial Austrian Collection are a Brussels XVI century set of eight, with Latin inscriptions, picturing the Story of Joshua (See plate no. 291), all illustrated in Birk Austrian; a Brussels XVII century set of eight signed I. VAN ZEUNEN, and a Brussels XVI century set of eight, most of them signed with the monogram of MARTIN REYMBOUTS, both picturing the Story of Jacob and most from the same cartoons; and numerous other XVI century tapestries picturing the events of Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Kings, Joshua, Judges, with Latin inscrip- tions. Tapestries that picture the stories of the New Testament have been described and illustrated in other chapters of this book — the Angers Apocalypse, the Reims Story of the Virgin, the La Chaise-Dieu Life of Christ, the Beaune Story of the Virgin, the Aix Life of Christ, in chapter II; Raphael's Acts of the Apostles in chapters III and V. Tapestries in the Royal Spanish Collection particularly worthy of notice, and illustrated in Valencia Spanish (whose anrafflfflTOHnsraiMi; p,-a> So b*3 is a P. h 31 M ** O u O S a cs *• a I a O CO J3 T? >> 2 S.5 a 8 w •-> J3 >> O 2 1-1 CO • V as d .9 M s a Oh - 292 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN numbering I copy), are No. I, a Gothic Birth of Christ (first half of the XV century), 1.93 metres by 2.50, with Latin inscription in Gothic letters; Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, superb Late Gothic triptych tapestries enriched with gold and silver, and picturing the Story of the Virgin, that formerly belonged to Philip the Handsome and that are worthy of comparison with the Mazarin tapestry; Nos. 7, 8, even more splendid examples of the weaver's art that also picture scenes from the Life of the Virgin and that also belonged to Philip the Handsome; Nos. 14, 15, 16, 17, brilliantly beautiful Late Gothic tapestries, each about 11 feet by 13 feet, with two-line Latin captions in Gothic letters (See plate no. 373) ; Nos. 18, 19, Christ on the way to Calvary, and the Deposi- tion from the Cross, two Gothic-Renaissance tapes- tries woven for Margaret of Austria, and included in the inventory of her property made in 1523, seven years before her death; Nos. 28, 29, 30, 31, four Early Renaissance tapestries, 11 feet 4 inches square, picturing the Passion of Our Lord, and woven by Pieter Van Pannemaker for Margaret of Austria; No. 66, a tapestry, 11 feet 4 by 11 feet 8, picturing the Last Supper, bought from Pieter Van Panne- maker by Charles V at the unusually high price of 38 florins a Flemish aune and presented to his wife, the Empress, bearing the Brussels mark and attribu- ted by Count Valencia to the designs of Barend Van Orley; the Apocalypse, a Renaissance set of eight tapestries picturing the Revelation of St. John, bought by Philip II, in 1 561, from Willem Van Panne- HIHMfflniaiSIBff PLATE no. 293. Above, the Adoration of the Magi. Jesus gives his blessing to the aged king who has just presented him with a cup of gold coins. This tapestry containing gold and silver, but a little less than a yard square, brought $5600 at the Somzee sale in 1 90 1. Below, the Adoration of the Shepherds. Note particularly the attitude of the ox and the ass, and the inscription in the GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO. 294 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN maker, whose monogram, together with the Brussels mark, appears in the selvage. Among Lives of the Saints pictured in tapestry, and described in chapter II of this book, are Saints Piat and Eleuthere at the Cathedral of Tournai, Saint Remi at Reims, Saint Etienne at the Cluny Museum, Saint Quentin at the Louvre, Saints Gervais and Protais at Le Mans. Important also from the religious point of view are tapestries like the Burgundian Seven Sacraments, described in chapter XVI, the Miracles of the Eucharist in chapter II; and those that in their method of presentation copy more or less closely after Morality plays, though perhaps not as com- pletely as suggested by Mr. Wood in his exceedingly interesting article in the January and February (191 2) numbers of the Burlington Magazine, entitled ' Tapestries of the Seven Deadly Sins." ■■■■■■■■BinninjT iilHISlW CHAPTER XII History and Romance in Tapestries Tapestries are one of the most effective forms of literary expression the world has ever known. Through them the stories of Homer's Iliad and of Homer's Odyssey were made vivid to the Greeks. Through them the stories of Virgil's iEneid and Ovid's Metamorphoses were made vivid to the Romans. Through them the stories of Greek and Roman and Medieval History and Romance, as well as of the Bible and the Saints, were made vivid to the people of France, England, Germany, and Italy during the XIV, XV, XVI, XVII centuries. Between the tapestries of classical antiquity and those of the XIV century a long period of darkness intervened. For a thousand years weavers were content to leave the making of large wall-pictures to painters and embroiderers. For a thousand years the art of making arras was dead. Arras, I should here explain, is another name for picture-tapestries taken from the Flemish city of Arras (See chapter IV) that, in the XIV century, was as famous for the manufacture of tapestry as the Gobelins is now. About ancient Greek picture-tapestries we know definitely from the description in the Odyssey of the picture-tapestry that Penelope wove openly by day, but unravelled secretly by night because its final 295 296 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN completion meant that she must keep her promise to select from among the suitors one to succeed the long-absent and supposedly long-lost Ulysses. An- dromache, too, wove tapestry, wove the shroud that was soon to envelop the body of Hector. Most wonderful of all was the tapestry that Helen wove, Helen of Troy, whose romance brought strife between two great nations, and led to the downfall of her adopted country. In this tapestry, with fatal irony, she wove the story of her own tragic life. About the picture-tapestries of ancient Rome we know, from the spirited weaving contest described by Ovid in the Story of Arachne. Arachne had the audacity to contend even against the goddess of the art of weaving, Pallas herself. With her bobbins she wove such wonderful pictures of the Loves of the Gods that Pallas, consciously surpassed, struck her. Arachne, incensed at the humiliation of the blow, and unable to avenge it, hanged herself. Whereupon the goddess, relenting, and with intent to gratify Arachne's passionate love of weaving, transformed her into a spider and bade her weave on for ever. We also have pictorial evidence about the art of tapestry- weaving in ancient Greece and Rome. In one of the early vase-paintings appear Penelope and Telemachus and a tapestry loom. Telamachus watches his mother as she weaves. While the loom differs in some respects from the medieval and modern high-warp loom, the details of the illustration make it certain that the loom, is a tapestry loom, and TOOTi- .MUlSiHWl HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 297 that the fabric being constructed is not a damask, or a brocade, or an embroidery, but a tapestry. Unfortunately, of the large picture-tapestries of ancient Greece and Rome, none have survived. But from ancient graves have been dug up many samples of small, decorative tapestry bands and trimmings for robes and gowns — some of them Greek, dating back to the IV century B.C., others woven in Romanised Egypt during the first few centuries. Of these Egyptian dress tapestries — commonly known as Coptic — there are large collections in the Metropolitan and many European museums. Of Byzantine and Saracenic and Moorish dress tapes- tries in silk, we also have many samples, thus bridg- ing the long interval between Roman and Gothic tapestries. A favourite theme of the tapestry-weavers of the XIV and XV centuries was the Nine Heroes (Preux) —three pagan, Hector, Alexander, Csesar; three Hebrew, David, Joshua, Judas Maccabaeus; three Christian, Arthur, Charlemagne, Godfrey de Bouil- lon. A tapestry picturing the Nine Heroes belonged to Louis Duke of Anjou. Two are mentioned in the inventory of his brother Charles V King of France ( 1 364-1 380). They also appear among the furnish- ings of Charles's brothers the Duke of Burgundy and the Duke of Berri — but with a tenth Preux added, the contemporary Hero of the war against England, Bertrand du Guesclin. A contemporary poem preserved in a manuscript in the Bibliotheque Nationale, reads: 298 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Puisqu'il est mort, qu'il soit mis en la table De Machabee, premier preux de renom, De Josue, David le raisonable, D'Alexandre, d'Hector et Absalon, D'Arthus, Charles, Godefroi de Bouillon. Or soit nomrae' le dixieme des lorz Bertrand le Preux qui servit en prodon L'ecu d'azur a trois fleurs de lia d'or. Which in English reads: Since he is dead, let him be put in the table Of Maccabseus, first Hero in renown, Of Joshua, David the wise, Alexander, Hector, and Absalom, Arthur, Charles, Godfrey de Bouillon. Now let be named the tenth of them Bertrand the Preux who like a hero saved The azure shield with three golden fleur-de-lis. This inscription was repeated recently on a Gobelin tapestry picturing the Funeral of Du Guesclin, designed by M. Edouard Toudouze for the Courthouse of Rennes. Perhaps it may be well to explain here that Judas Maccabaeus was the great Jewish warrior who, in the second century B.C., de- feated in quick successsion the Syrian generals, Appollonius, Seron, Gorgias, and the regent Lysias — victories that led to the temporary independence of Judea. Of all the Gothic Hero tapestries, however, practi- cally none have survived. In the Historic Museum of Bale in Switzerland there is a XV century fragment (illustrated on page 31 of Guiffrey Seizieme) showing Judas Maccabaeus, Arthur, Charlemagne, Godfrey raininraiMiin! lilt}* >> ^ ;s a H w 9 • 43 bo oo *• •r *° mh O M . .9 a a •« :a ° S 2 .a * <» . o •" 43 a (O O" » *. *• v. •=" ?»!' ..--' t tie rgai aft nee I" ta ni "O 'S 1 ■ heB; feM foun one a "O g a .2 6 ►.» > ,« 4> *-• o .2 43 M 'C • w t>> pictu Bold harle e. B i m > o eims, es the ;ror C orrain 'f Pi H AH o o w _ "H ° 43 .9 rcSu * S 4> £ O 43 -O '£ §S 8 01 51 .2 43 ui w i) >, II 8 5 o a -° 2 »i ° t» "° O DO 43 ij 300 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN de Bouillon, side by side afoot on a verdure back- ground, framed in long ribbons bearing inscriptions in German and each displayed his coat of arms on shield or banner. This tapestry makes easy the identification of Arthur and Godfrey de Bouillon in the Triumph of Christ tapestries at Brussels and Saragossa, and in the Charlemagne tapestry owned by Mr. George Blumenthal (See plates nos. 370, 371). In the fragment discovered some years ago at Saint Maxent, the Heroes are mounted, and each of the six — Joshua, David, Hector, Caesar, Arthur, God- frey de Bouillon — carries a blazoned shield that would identify him even if his name were not in- scribed beside him. Some of them have a six-line exploitation of their prowess in verse. One of the pieces begins: "I am Hector of Troy where fear was great." Besides Heroes, there were also Heroines. In an inventory of the Count of Savoy, each of the Heroes has a lady companion, evidently a Heroine. In the Inventory of Charles VI of France appear a number of Heroines glorified in tapestry, most of them Amazons and all belonging to antiquity, chief among them Penthesilea, of whom the Cathedral of Angers possesses a curious picture in tapestry that was formerly identified as Joan of Arc. One proof of the immense popularity of the Nine Heroes in the Middle Ages is the fact that the four kings in playing-cards — hearts, diamonds, spades, clubs — Charles, Caesar, David, Alexander — are sim- ply four of the Medieval Preux, Hector having be- ilinraKW" !•■ , SHI^HH!iK»«inHii8i8i!ii MMlliiltlUiiUO HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 301 come the Jack of Diamonds, and the other four hav- ing been dropped. Immensely popular with Gothic tapestry-weavers was the Story of the Trojan War. Typical examples are the three Chevalier Bayard fragments and the seven Aulhac fragments illustrated in colour in Jubinal Tapisseries. The former were purchased in 1807 from the owner of the Chateau de Bayard by the painter M. Richard of Lyons, who thirty years later presented them to M. Jubinal (See plate no. 59). The latter formerly belonged to the Besse family of Aulhac, from whom they were taken at the time of the French Revolution and placed in the Courthouse of Issoire where they now are. By a rare piece of good fortune the original colour sketches survive and are now in the Louvre. They formerly belonged to Herr Adolf Gutbier of Dresden, and while in his possession were illustrated and de- scribed in Schumann Trojan. Of these sketches there are eight, 15 by 22 inches, all in good condition except the second from which a vertical section of the middle is missing. The sketches were drawn with the pen and coloured red, blue, and yellow with water-colours. The subjects are: (1) Antenor's Mission to Greece (two scenes). The Judg- ment of Paris. (2) Arrival of the Greeks and the First Battle of Troy. (3) Fourth Battle, King Thoas Captured, In the Chamber of Beauty. (4) Death of Palamedes, the Refusal of Achilles, Hector's Farewell to Andromache. (5) Eighth Battle, Death of Achilles, Twentieth Battle. (6) Arrival of Penthesilea, Battle of the Amazons, the Army of Pyrrhus, Pyrrhus in Battle. (7) Death of Penthesilea, An- 302 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN tenor's Treachery. (8) The Wooden Horse, the deaths of Priam and Polyxena. The Bayard fragments correspond to the left ^ of sketch no. 6. At the bottom of each of the Bayard fragments is a Latin caption in two lines. The first reads: Vergunt Trojam cum Panthasilea. Bellatrices mille federatae. Ut Hectorem vindicent galeam. Hiis Priamus favit ordinate. From the Aulhac fragments the captions are miss- ing, but they as well as the Bayard fragments have some of the personages and buildings designated by name. Especially interesting are the seventeen eight-line stanzas of French verse written on the back of the eight colour sketches (petits patrons). Schumann prints them entire. They are based not upon the Iliad, but upon other poetical versions of the Story of Troy. One of the Aulhac fragments copies the first scene of sketch no. i, and a fragment at the Cathedral of Zamora copies no. 8. A subject that appealed particularly to the weavers of the XVI century was the Story of Scipio Africanus, glorious with battles and triumphs (See Astier Scipio). The designs were nearly or quite all Italian, and largely inspired by Petrarch's epic poem Africa that treats exclusively of the Second Punic war. One of the most ancient sets was the one known as the Grand Scipion purchased by Francois I for the Chateau of Madrid and burned in 1797 (See chapter niii;!;ii^i!i;)<]it!r " I s>> 3 6 S • a — 5 si. a 1.1 310 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN demeure que l'honneur, et la vie qui est sauvee. (Madam, to explain to you the rest of my mis- fortunes, the only thing left to me is honour, and my life that has been saved)." The subjects of the Tunis tapestries are: (i) Map of the Mediterranean showing the ports of em- barkation from Europe and the field of operations in Africa. (2) Review of the Emperor's army at Barcelona. (3) Arrival of the fleet at the site of ancient Carthage, and debarkation. (4) Battle outside La Goleta. (5) Sortie of the Turks from La Goleta. (6) Turks driven back into La Goleta. (7) Cap- ture of La Goleta. (8) The Emperor advances on Tunis (missing from the Spanish set since the middle of the XVIII century). (9) Capture of Tunis. (10) Sack of Tunis. (11) Return of the army to Rada (missing from the Spanish set). (12) Re-embarkation of the army. Interesting to compare with these Charles V tapestries — Tunis, Pavia, and Notre Dame du Sablon described in my chapter on Renaissance Tapestries — is the remarkable Gobelin set of 14 pieces picturing the Story of Louis XIV of France (See chapter VI) which is admirably supplemented by the 12 Royal Residences. H^!illi!BilH: CHAPTER XIII The Tapestry Point of View Gothic and Renaissance points of view were diametrically opposed. The purpose of Gothic pictorial art was to tell the story beautifully and effectively. The purpose of Renaissance pictorial art — a purpose inherited by Raphael and his school from Ancient Rome — was to produce the illusion of reality. About Gothic art there is a mystery and romance that fascinates. It is intensely personal, intensely human, intensely spiritual. It is the work of men permeated with religious consciousness, and with warm comprehension of the omniscience and omni- presence of God. Gothic art is Christianity in concrete form. Renaissance art was more intellectual, more abstract, more scientific. It was more interested in what could be calculated with the head than in what could be felt with the heart. It was critical rather than receptive, and deliberately preferred perfection of form and precision of method, to creative grandeur and a wide appeal. Comparison of Gothic with Renaissance tapestries illustrates this. The former tell the story at any expense. In the Marriage of Cana (See plate no. 71) in the Hoentschel Collection, the jars are turned 311 312 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN so that everyone can see that they now contain red wine. Architectural angles are increased or dimin- ished in order to display the details of vaults and walls and columns. Scenes are represented as if regarded from an arbitrary point of view, and effects that in nature and photography and painting are produced by contrast of light and shade, are in Gothic tapes- tries produced by contrast of line and pattern and colour (hue). Take the Burgundian Seven Sacraments presented to the Metropolitan Museum by Mr. Morgan and described by me in the Burlington Magazine for December, 1907. This tapestry (See plate no. 47), once consisted of an upper row of seven scenes picturing the Seven Sacraments in their origin, and a lower row of seven scenes picturing the Seven Sacraments as celebrated in the XV century, with captions in Old French between the two rows of scenes. A brick wall with floriation outside framed the whole tapestry. The scenes were separated laterally by Gothic columns with jewelled capitals and collars. Above and on the left the brick wall is shadowed inside, and high-lighted outside; below it is high- lighted inside and shadowed outside, thus repre- senting the light source as above and on the left. But, the wall above and on the left is represented as turned up and to the left, and the inside is jewelled so as to stand boldly out and accentuate the point of view arbitrarily imposed by the designer as from below on the right. Consonant with this, the inside ninu^mmarrittn^n^niiuj'iiJf^sjn^^Hiin^iHninm^Hr^fliusuiinHua 314 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN of the wall on the right is entirely invisible, while just enough of the inside of the bottom wall is shown to set the point of view as about the height of the eyes of a person standing in front. In Late Renaissance and XVII century tapestries the point of view shifted to the middle in front of the tapestry, the inside of the frame on the right being in high light, and the outside in shadow — re- versed of course when the light source was represented as on the right. The Ancient Romans also employed arbitrary points of view to help them tell the story. But they used shadow only, without jewelled or other orna- ment to signal and emphasise the convention. Take the Bescoreale Frescoes in the Metropolitan Museum, one of the panels of which I illustrate (See plate no. 315). Inside and back of the round painted columns in front, are square shadow columns whose presence is purely arbitrary and whose purpose is to push out the round columns into relief. Notice particularly that in his efforts to obtain semblance of reality and relief the artist did not hesitate to use shadow columns inside both the round columns, thus representing the light as coming from both outsides, and the point of view as in front in the middle. What my illustration merely indicates is confirmed by the main room of the Bescoreale Frescoes, with three scenes, ABA, opposite A, B A (A, being the reverse of A and B, of B), and on the end wall CDC,. The shadow columns make it certain that the point nrasninmin!^^ BOSCOREALE FRESCO PLATE no. 315. Panel from the Bo6coreale Frescoes at the Metropolitan Museum, introduced to show the ancient Roman method of forcing painted columns forward into apparent relief by the use of square shadow columns behind them. It was the imitation of ancient Roman paintings heavily shadowed like this, that finally replaced Gothic line contrast by Renaissance and Baroque shadow contrast (See chapter XIII). 316 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN of view is in the middle between B and B,, and that the light comes from both sides outside A and A,. While Raphael introduced heavy shadows and considerable photographic perspective into the Acts of the Apostles tapestries, he did not employ the heavily shadowed woven columns and frames that are so characteristic of Mortlake and XVII century Brussels tapestries. Indeed as far as tapestries were concerned, it was not until the XVII century that the weavers began to reproduce paintings in toto — wooden frames and all. [Iti!i!nirani2!n»jni»^«fl»)^;^ni)iiin}i8sn]nniai)iu9]ni CHAPTER XIV The Care of Tapestries As a rule, tapestries should hang loose and free. Only then do they succeed in telling their complete story in their own way. And then only are they safe in case of fire, because easy to take down and carry away. The measures often taken for the preservation of tapestries are frequently fatal to them. Wooden frames that for paintings are neces- sary from the aesthetic as well as from the utilitarian point of view, are doubly wrong for tapestries. They make tapestries difficult to transport, and they expose them particularly to the attacks of moths. One of the virtues of tapestries is that they are so easy to handle and take care of. A band of stiff webbing with rings, across the top, is all the harness necessary for hanging, from small hooks, even the largest tapestries that are in good condition. Then it is but a second's work to unhook the precious fabric, and carry it off folded up under the arm. But the folding should be only temporary, and tapestries like rugs when sent to the store-room should never be folded but rolled on wooden poles, a large number of which can be stored in small space by placing on upright standards with projecting arms, as at the Gobelins. On the question of folding tapestries the famous 317 318 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN tapestry designer, Oudry, speaks with authority, writing from Beauvais to the King of Sweden in 1745 with regard to the set of Boucher's Story of Psyche, just acquired by the King for only 8,835 livres. He says: I have made a roller on which I have rolled the tapestries in order that they may not be a fold under the arms, leg, etc., to spoil the contour. I beg of you earnestly, sir, to order that it should never be folded for several days at a time, and that always after it has been opened out for some time, that it be rolled up with care, in order that no false folds slip in. For lack of this precaution, many fine tapestries in our public collections have been seriously injured by their guardians who took the greatest pains to fold them always in the same folds. Frames with heavy relief mouldings not only make tapestries unwieldy, they also spoil their appearance, even without the glass that some ignorant vandals add. Just as surely as paintings look best when fenced in so as to increase the illusion, so tapestries look best when standing out in relief beyond their background. This is true even of XVIII century tapestries, and the farther back you go toward the Golden Age of tapestries the more is it true. Of course when tapestries are very old and tender, especial measures must be taken for their preserva- tion. They must be held in position by vertical and horizontal bands of lining, reinforced if necessary with an all-over lining, so that no part of the ancient textile may be subjected to strain or stress. But great care must be taken to have the lining well shrunk before applying, or the effect will be dis- *mwm 3nni^n^iHi»ni»?!n^n»!nin»«uniH2}noH:usn^HUHmmuntiiiiiiiuiiuiiHHin ^^teg^^^r^B^^ a 5 3 ~ t< 01 fj.2 w to 2 u C a a i << M a- i- S" u rt < a w 3 H 3 55 c > J3 o 3 o. 0) i z < Pi c w u •o 3 o o «f |X| w ** 2 41 d ""* - 9 5 « O .9 . .* a £ ■•■>"> W (u H 2* 320 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN astrous instead of helpful. A narrow board across the top of a tapestry, tacked to the webbing, makes it easy to hang by picture-cord from the moulding like a framed painting, and a narrow board across the bottom will straighten out obtrusive folds. But here I wish to utter a word of protest against those who insist on hanging tapestries flat. Tapes- tries are not made to hang flat and do not show to their best advantage when so hung. The lights and shadows that are added to the tapestry ribbed-and- lined surface by the folds and puckers, natural to the product of the tapestry loom — particularly the high- warp loom — are one of its most pleasing features, and should be preserved even in XVIII century tapestries that can stand flatter-hanging than any others. • For XVIII century panels of moderate size, a newly invented tapestry tape that reduces the in- surance on valuable pieces, will be found useful, be- cause it makes them easier to save in case of fire. The tape is of two kinds, one with eyes that sew to the border of the tapestry, the other with buttons that attach to the wall or frame. In a trice the eyes can be snapped over the buttons and the tapestry is as flatly in the frame or against the wall as the great- est lover of flatness in tapestry surface could wish. Comes a fire, and one pull will dislodge the whole panel. Of course, another reason for not framing tapes- tries, is that many of them already have a woven border or frame. The cleaning of tapestries is comparatively a •~ T *~^ T TT?^T^^^^^ HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 321 simple matter — merely a wooden frame or frames elevated to a convenient height above the ground, with lattice-work of narrow bands of canvas six or eight inches apart to hold the tapestry flat. Then spread the tapestry out face down on the frames, and tap the back lightly but persistently to dislodge the dust. Then invert the tapestry and attack the dust gently with a stiff brush. This process will also do more than any other to dislodge moth eggs, which survive the formaldehyde vapor baths, that to the moths themselves are fatal and that do not, like other baths and washings, injure the fabric, especially if it contains gold or silver. Where formaldehyde baths are not practicable, the powdered camphrosine that is used at the Gobelins can be recommended. Tapestries that are badly stained must be washed in water with white liquid soap. For milder cases stale bread-crumbs, or fine moist sawdust will do. Repairing tapestries is work for an expert. Val- uable pieces should never be intrusted to Oriental rug repairers or to any one not absolutely and completely familiar with tapestry texture, and also honest of purpose. Many tapestries have been ruined by bad repairing and by painting up the surface with dyes in order to accomplish astounding results quickly and inexpensively. An extreme example of this, sold at the Robb Sale 19 12, was a narrow decora- tive panel in the style of Audran. To allow tapestries to collect dust on the walls of a museum year after year, without proper cleaning or repairs, is a crime. An extreme example of this 322 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN is a Renaissance tapestry, entitled the Capture of Granada, lent to the Pennsylvania Museum of Indus- trial Art by Mrs. John Harrison. Other tapestries at the same museum that are suffering from neglect are three Story of Jacob panels, signed with the Brussels mark and a monogram made out of the letters AEST. hMni. , WfiffiH(Stlffll»Di^Hn(»lK30H:(;WtHHU!HNamnUiilUiHHUilUHQfl CHAPTER XV Tapestry Museums, Collections, Expositions, Inventories, Sales, Books In order to know tapestries, it is necessary to study not only actual examples, but also the illustrations contained in books on tapestry and in catalogues of sales and collections. It is also necessary to take advantage of the best that has been written on the subject, and to learn to distinguish the wheat from the chaff. The purpose of this chapter is to make this easy, and by furnishing abbreviations of titles to save space in the other chapters. The abbreviations are printed in italics to make them catch the eye quickly. Illustrations I have described as line, or half-tone, or photographic, arbitrarily employing the term photo- graphic to denote illustrations from photograph not translated through line or screen. All of the books named, except as otherwise noted, can be consulted at the Library of the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. Many of them are also to be found in the New York Public Library, the Library of Colum- bia University, the Boston Public Library, and the Library of the Boston Fine Arts Museum. Gitiffrey Bibliography very properly heads any list of books on tapestry, for M. Jules Guiffrey is first among writers on tapestry. As director of the Gobelins, and as archivist, he had extraordinary opportunities to gratify his love for tapestries and 323 324 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN tapestry literature, and render service to other lovers of tapestry by the publication of records and documents previously inaccessible. The title of M. Guiffrey 's bibliography of tapestry is La Tapisserie, Paris, 1904. It contains 1,083 titles and has an excellent index. South Kensington Bibliography is a pamphlet, printed for the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1888, con- taining a list of books in the Museum Library on textiles, pages 36 to 48 on tapestry. Macomber Bibliography, of which there are copies in the Library of the Metropolitan Museum and in the Boston Public Library (the latter with annotations and additions in handwriting), is a privately print- ed (Boston, 1895) catalogue and bibliography of books, pamphlets, and magazine articles assembled by M. Alfred Darcel the distinguished writer on tapestries, and now a part of the library of Mr. Frank Gair Macomber. Guiffrey Generale. Pinchart Generale. Muentz Gene- rale. These are the three abbreviations I have chosen to stand for the three monumental volumes of the great Histoire Generale de la Tapisserie, Paris, 1874-84. Guiffrey wrote the text of the volume on French tapestries; Pinchart Flemish; Miintz Italian, German, and English. There are 105 large and separately mounted photographic illustrations besides line illustrations in the text. This book is not easy reading, but it is a mine of facts. Of course some of its conclusions have been superseded by later investigations. ^R, «5 » a a « a °. S3 -m m a £ 8 o *< ja q. § - 2 £ o w » P. U) II j am a qj 1) 9 4) E £3 "m * ■ a ° ° >, P a •a e S !H « 5 _ H « a !5 rt >> « & -o 2 8 ° a S -a § « B " 55^ b » "3 -i 330 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Visiting the Gobelins. M. Guiffrey's book also has, what the other book lacks, an adequate index. Guiffrey Seizieme is a folio volume by Jules Guiffrey, entitled Les Tapisseries and covering the centuries XII to XVI. It is volume VI of Molinier's Histoire Generale desArts Appliques a l'lndustrie and was published in Paris, 191 1. It has 98 half- tone illustrations in the text in addition to 15 photographic pages, and an excellent index. Fenaille Gobelins, Guiffrey Gobelins, Badin Beauvais, are the most important books on the French National Looms. Of Maurice Fenaille's Etat General des Tapisseries de la Manufacture des Gobelins (1600- 1900), three volumes have been published, the first covering the years 1 662-1 699, the second 1 699-1 736, the third 1 737-1 794, with introductory and final volumes still to come. Volume II bears the date 1903. The three volumes already issued contain over 225 full-page photo- graphic illustrations besides line drawings on the text pages. Everything is given that could throw light on the product and activities of the Gobelins, and the book is rich with documents and records printed in full without change. Jules Guiffrey's Les Gobelins et Beauvais, Paris, 1908, is an attrac- tive and inexpensive little volume with 94 illustra- tions in half-tone, and bibliography of the 15 principal books on these two ateliers. There is no index. Jules Badin's La Manufacture de Tapisseries de Beauvais, Paris, 1909, prints a wealth of records bearing on the history of the nihnniiHMihiffi^nihf^^iiffitjiUiivH^ouiiSiM'iiiHMHuimffliuniuayHifiiHH 332 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN establishment and gives 30 large photographic illustrations of tapestries woven at Beauvais, among these a number of the famous ones designed for the Beauvais works by Francois Boucher. M. Guiffrey being manager (administrateur) of the Gobelins, and M. Badin of the Beauvais factory, they had unusual opportunities to get familiar with the facts. Valencia Spanish, Birk Austrian, Guichard French, Boettiger Swedish, are the most important volumes on national collections. Count Valencia de Don Juan's Tapices de la Corona de Espana, Madrid, 1903, in two portfolio volumes, contains 135 large photographic illustrations of tapestries in the Royal Spanish Collection, mostly XVI century Flemish tapestries of the highest quality, with short de- scriptions in French and reproductions in line of the marks and signatures. Dr. Ernst Ritter von Birk's Inventar der im Besitze des Allerhochsten Kaiserhauses Befindlichen Niederlander Tapeten und Gobelins was published in the first four vol- umes, Vienna, 1883-86, of the Jahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen Sammlungen des Allerhochsten Kaiserhauses and contains 74 large photographic illustrations of tapestries, mostly of the XVI century, in the Imperial Austrian Collection. The text is a descriptive inventory with line reproduction of marks and signatures of the entire collection, non-illustrated as well as illus- trated. The index is on pages 217-220 of volume II. Ed. Guichard's Les Tapisseries Decoratives IffiBnifliHiHHnBK ANIMALS FIGHTING PLATE no. 333. Animals Fighting, a XVII century Gobelin tapestry at the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford University, one of the Old Indies taken from eight paintings presented to Louis XIV by the Prince of -Nassau, and "painted on the spot." The first high warp set of the Indies was presented to the Russian Emperor Peter the Great when he visited the Gobelins in i7r7, and was used as a model at the St. Petersburg works founded by him (See chapter VI). The tapestry illustrated on this page bears the signature of JANS and is believed to have been presented by Louis XIV to the Chinese Emperor. At any rate after 150 years it and its companions in the Groult collection were discovered in one of the imperial godowns at Yuen-Ming-Yuen when the place was looted in 1861. The Chinese inventory ticket dated 1771 read: "one piece of tapestry with human figure in feathers," evidently representing the ticket writer's idea of "foreign devils." 334 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN du Garde-Meuble (French National Collection), in two volumes, with text by Alfred Darcel, published in Paris, 1881, contains 87 large photo- graphic illustrations mostly of XVII and XVIII century Gobelins with only a few Flemish, Early XVII century Paris, and Mortlake. The intro- duction by Darcel is interesting, and so are his descriptions, but the failure to give sizes lessens the value of the book greatly. Dr. John Boettiger's Svenska Statens Samling af Vafda Tapeter is a de luxe book, in four volumes on hand- made paper, published in Stockholm, 1898. It contains 150 folio pages of illustrations of XVI, XVII, XVII I century tapestries — Gobelins, Beau- vais, and Mortlake as well as Flemish — in the Royal Swedish Collection. The descriptive in- ventory in volume III is the best ever published, with accurate and adequate descriptions, and with line illustrations of marks and signatures. The fact that it is in Swedish, like the rest of the first three volumes, will lessen its value for general use. Fortunately volume IV, in French, contains a translation of the more important chapters that tell admirably the history of tapestry-weaving in Sweden and of the acquisition of tapestries from foreign countries. Volume IV also contains a list in French of the illustrations in all four volumes, and three indices — one of painters and designers, one of master weavers and proprietors, one of subjects pictured in the tapestries. Belgium 1880, Brussels 1905, Decoratifs 1882, are tnin2^m^Min;rt:(<)ini:u!i}H»!Hitnuiut)(uuuiiiHUiiH»ui 336 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN three books important in a tapestry library, illustrating and describing expositions. Especially valuable is the first, entitled Les Tapisseries Historiees a l'Exposition Beige de 1880, published in Brussels, 1881, by the artist H. F. Keuller, with text by Alphonse Wauters. The introductory text is interesting, but the list of tapestries ex- hibited, as well as the list of 127 folio pages of photographic illustrations (several in colour), is not sufficiently descriptive and does not even give sizes. The names of the exhibitors — among them Somzee, Spitzer, Erlanger, the King of Spain, Braquenie, Florence Museum, the Beguinage de Saint Trond, Prince Hohenzollern, City of Ghent — appear under the illustrations and in the list of illustrations. Plates 113, 114 give line illus- trations of tapestry marks and monograms. Plates 115 to 127 give photographic illustrations of border details. Brussels 1905, is my abbreviation for Joseph Destree's Tapisseries et Sculptures Bruxel- loises a l'Exposition d'Art Ancien Bruxellois, Juillet a Octobre, 1905, published in Brussels in 1906. M. Destree's descriptions of the 32 photo- graphic illustrations of tapestries (one cartoon) are adequate and interesting. Among the tapes- tries illustrated are the Gothic Annunciation, Adoration of the Magi, Louis XV raising the Siege of Salins, belonging to the Museum of the Gobelins; Mr. Morgan's Mazarin tapestry now lent to the Metropolitan Museum ; the Brussels Mu- seum's Notre Dame du Sablon; in colour, M. Le- H^LMn^«nmi«n about 1 :' this I rg Tapestr Decembei 1907 mi: - : - . i C-- 7 - " ~ T . rn 3lT : : : £ ": r :^" r : 1 ::. .": :: _ _ : :\ ;- Im Court Cz:^^s~:^ v^'v^. flmn ~. ' "';. 11 ." " - .-. : - 7 . - - - - i - "_ - « ■ . - — — -- c 14 one yv„ - : - - - - - ^ . . " : - " - - ' - : 1 — -- 1 . - — -~.-z ~j=z -vcfcnae • ^ . " ■ - --.-■■ - _~ :Liriad — ' KUUiUMi . 352 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Court Catalogue of the Pictures and Tapestries at that palace, London, 1905, also by Ernest Law, contains inadequate descriptions of the tapestries and of the famous Mantegna cartoons, and small illustrations in line and in half-tones of some of them. E. du Sommerard's Catalogue du Musee des Thermes et de l'Hotel de Cluny, Paris, 1883, devotes pages 494-505 and 678-681 to tapestries (nos. 6284-6339 and 103 1 6-1035 1) giving the sizes of most. Dr. Theodor Hampe's Katalog of the Gewebesammlung des Germanischen National Mu- seums of Nuremberg contains excellent descriptions of tapestries in that museum with photographic illustrations of seven (one of them attributed to the year 1400), and line illustrations of signatures. Munich Guide, otherwise the Fiihrer durch das Bayerische National-Museum in Miinchen is ar- ranged by rooms and gives brief descriptions of the tapestries they contain, together with valuable information on the subject of tapestry-weaving in Munich and in Lauingen in past centuries, of which the museum shows numerous examples. Munich Neubau means the folio volume Der Neubau des Bayerischen National-Museum in Miinchen, published in Munich in 1902. The illustrations are in half-tone and show the tapestries not separately but as part of the rooms in which they hang. Laking Windsor, Florence Tapestries, Naples Museum. Guy Francis Laking in his superb volume, the Fur- niture of Windsor Castle, describes 28 and gives 354 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN large photographic illustrations of 3 tapestries. He also prints on pages 179-199 the Windsor part of the Henry VIII Inventory, in which tapestry " Hangyngs " lead. Florence Tapestries is the guide to the Gallery of Tapestries in Florence published by D. Appleton & Co. in New York in 189 1. It contains very brief descriptions of 123 tapestries and a short introduction. It is volume XXVII of Miscellaneous Pamphlets at the Metropolitan Museum. Pages 146-148 of the Illustrated Guide to the National Museum in Naples are devoted to an excellent description of the set of seven tapestries designed by Barend Van Orley and picturing the defeat and capture of Francis I by Charles V at Pavia. Farcy Angers, Angers Apocalypse. A very valuable book is the Histoire et Description des Tapisserie de l'Eglise Cathedrale d'Angers by L. de Farcy, director of the Musee Diocesain, Angers, 1897. Founded upon the Abbe Barbier de Montaults's Tapisseries du Sacre d'Angers, 1858, it gives much additional information. It describes in detail the wonderful XIV century set that pictures the Apocalypse, and also other sets belonging to the Cathedral of Angers, among them the Passion in four pieces, the Discovery of the True Cross, the Story of St. Martin, Mary Magdalen, the Story of St. Saturnin, the Instruments of the Passion, Trojan War Episode, Pierre de Rohan and the Organ, John the Baptist, the Story of St. Maurille, the Story of Joseph. Angers Apocalypse. Les 0«U«lWM»iniJWHJMMlMMlH»lHi»u >'M.'l.>flOHB| HENRI AND CATHERINE PLATE no. 355. Fete of the French Sovereigns Henri II and Catherine de' Me'dicis, one of a set of Late Renais- sance tapestries in the Florence Tapestry Museum. In design and weave it closely resembles another tapestry in the same museum that is signed FRANCISCUS . SPIRINGIUS . FECIT . ANNO . 1602. This is the Francois Spierinx of Delft who wove for the English Crown from the designs of Cornelius Van Vroom of Haarlem, the set of ten picturing the Defeat of the Spanish Armada, which hung in the House of Lords until des- troyed by fire in 1834, and the designs of which have been preserved by the engravings of John Pine made about 1789. 356 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Tapisseries de la Cathedral d'Angers, published in Leipzig in 1892, contains 72 excellent photo- graphs of the whole of the Apocalypse set. There are copies of this book in the Avery Library and in the Library of the Metropolitan Museum. Cox Lyons. Raymond Cox's l'Art de Decorer les Tissus is a monumental volume containing illus- trations, some in colour and some in half-tone, of Coptic tapestries, a half-size illustration in colour of a fragment of the famous St. Gereon tapestry and very large half-tone illustrations of other im- portant tapestries belonging to the Historical Museum of the Chamber of Commerce of Lyons. Destrce Cinquantenaire. Les Tapisseries des M usees Royaux des Cinquantenaire by Joseph Destree and P. Van Den Ven, Brussels, 1910, an inexpen- sive but excellent little book containing 44 pages of half-tones of tapestries in the Brussels Royal Museums, together with descriptions of the tap- estries and a brief but valuable introduction. Reims Peintes. Toiles Peintes de la Ville de Reims, by Louis Paris, Paris, 1880, has two quarto volumes of text, and one large album with line engravings by C. Leberthais that illustrate the Gothic painted cloths [counterfeit arras] now in the Museum of Reims. Of these cloths there are 12 picturing the Passion of Christ, 7 the Vengeance of Our Lord, that had its climax in the capture and ruin of Jerusalem by Titus and the selling of the Jews into slavery, 4 the Story of Suzanne, 1 from the Story of Judith, 1 from the Story of tfifoSi 358 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Esther, i the Apostles. Curiously interesting in this Passion series is the Piscina Probatica, a small pond near Jerusalem whose waters cured ills of the flesh. The text volumes give an ex- haustive resume with copious extracts, of the Old French miracle plays which inspired the painters of these cloths and many of the scenes of which, as actually put upon the stage, were reproduced on canvas. Also illustrated and de- scribed by M. Louis, with quotations from the old chronicles, are the Clovis tapestries that belong to the Cathedral of Reims. Reims Tapisseries. Charles Loriquet's Tapisseries de la Cathedrale de Reims, Paris, 1882, gives large illustrations of the two huge (over 15 by 27 feet) tapestries remaining at the Cathedral of Reims out of an original set of six picturing the Story of Clovis, the first Christian King of France, and the part the Archbishop of Reims had in his conversion and in the founding of the kingdom. There are also large photographic illustrations of the set of 17 Gothic-Renaissance tapestries picturing the Story of the Virgin. The descriptions of the tapestries and the introductory article on Tapestry at the Cathedral of Reims are of unusual excellence. All of the tapestry captions are printed in full, with French translations of the Latin ones. Raphael Vatican, Astier Scipio. Les Tapisseries de Raphael au Vatican by Eugene Muntz, Paris, 1897, is a study into the origin and execution of the Acts of the Apostles tapestries designed by ^)-uiiiiiHu»iiH«»U(»uiM»iiiii}ii»ua)iM .5 o p -s 360 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Raphael for Pope Leo. It contains large photo- graphic illustrations of the seven cartoons now at the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington, line illustrations of Volpato's and Ottaviani's engravings of the borders, half-tone illustrations of the borders that survive as part of the Vatican tapestries, together with numerous illustrations of the set of tapestries in the Vatican entitled Scenes from the Life of Christ, and of other tapestries wrongly attributed to Raphael. La Belle Tapisserie du Roy by Colonel d'Astier, Paris, 1907, is an interesting and exhaustive study of Renaissance and later tapestries picturing the Story of Scipio. Cham pea ux Tapestry is one of the South Kensington handbooks published in 1878. While now out of date, it was most helpful at the time, con- taining an index, and a descriptive list of the principal public tapestry collections in the world. Rossi Arazzo is a little inexpensive volume pub- lished in Milan in 1907. While it is purely and simply a compilation, as far as the historical part is concerned, it contains half-tone illustrations of a number of important old tapestries in Italian collections, and of several modern ones woven on high warp looms in Rome. It has a bibliography, two indexes, line illustrations of marks and signa- tures, and line and half-tone illustrations of the processes of high-warp weaving. Gentili Arazzi is a volume entitled Arazzi Antichie Moderni, by Cav. Pietro Gentili, director of the :«< ■HIHi^iiiliiSilHiiiiliiilUiiiiU^iilUiiililiiUiiUKi 362 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN tapestry works in the Vatican, Rome 1897. He describes and illustrates in large half-tone colour plates five pieces of Late Gothic tapestry about six feet square that he had recently repaired for the Hon. Wayne MacVeagh, at that time United States Ambassador to Italy. He also illustrates in colour a high-warp loom with partly finished tapestry of St. Joseph. Goya Tapices is a small volume published in Madrid in 1870, Los Tapices de Goya, by D. G. Cruzada Villaamil. It tells the story of the 92 tapestries woven, some on high warp, some on low warp, looms in the Santa Barbara royal tapestry works in Madrid in the latter part of the XVIII century at a cost of 624,000 reales, after 45 cartoons by Don Francisco de Goya that cost 124,000 reales. Chapter VI gives the history of the Spanish tapestry works of Santa Barbara founded in 1 72 1 at Madrid, of Seville in 1730, of Santa Isabel at Madrid in 1734. Williams Spam. Pages 137-159 of volume III of Leonard Williams' Arts and Crafts of Olden Spain contains a brief history of tapestry in that country. Christie, Hooper. Books that will help to a knowledge of the practical side of tapestry-weaving are Christie's Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving and Hooper's Handloom Weaving, both in Lethaby's Artistic Crafts series. Lessing Wandteppiche. Die Wandteppiche aus dem Leben desErzvaters Jacob, by Julius Lessing, Berlin, 1900, contains 15 extra large photographic illustra- l^iiiJljyiiilisiSiitiliiiiiiiiilihiSiiiiiihiliiiiitiij!.:* tut SAINT PETER PLATE no. 363. The Angel Delivers St. Peter. Gothic tapestry in the Cluny Museum, 2.75 metres by 2.25, bearing the arms of Guillaume de Hellande, Bishop of Beauvais from 1444 to 1462, and of the local chapter. Note Paix, the Latin for peace, distributed over the surface. The inscription at the top in French reads: "How the angel led St. Peter out of the prison of Herod." The inscription over the door in Latin reads: "Now I know surely because God has sent his angel." The other pieces of the set are in the Beauvais Cathedral. 364 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN tions of a set of ten Story of Jacob privately owned Renaissance tapestries, with descriptions of all. Grosch Norwegian designates H. Grosch's Gamle Norske Billedtaepper published in Berlin 1901 with text in both Norwegian and German by the Art Industrial Museum of Christiania. These large colour plates illustrating twelve old tapes- tries woven in Norway in the XVI, XVII, and XVIII centuries. Hoentschel Collections. In volume IV of the Collec- tiones Georges Hoentschel, Paris, 1908, are large photographic illustrations of Esther and Ahasuerus, a Gothic tapestry illustrated on my plate no. 35; Jesus among the Doctors, and the Marriage of Cana, a Late Gothic tapestry, the latter part of which is illustrated on my plate no. 39; the Massacre of the Innocents, and the Flight into Egypt, a companion piece to the preceding; two Late Gothic Morality tapestries; a Scene from a Romance; a Late Gothic verdure with person- ages Hunting Scene; all lent by Mr. Morgan to the Metropolitan Museum. Schumann Trojan is my abbreviation for Dr. Paul Schumann's Trojanische Krieg, Dresden, 1898, one large folio volume of 8 photographic plates illustrating the eight original XV century colour sketches from which were woven the Trojan War Gothic tapestries at South Kensington (no. 6, 1887), and in the Courthouse of Issoire a little town in the South of France about 75 miles west of Lyons. The accompanying text volume also 3hti!iit!tiaMUtUtHi»i;<<«i 390 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN inside surfaces of the brick frame are represented as turned slightly up and to the left. The visible inside surfaces of this frame, above and on the left, are accentuated by bright-coloured jewels. The original complete tapestry began on the left with the Baptism in Jordan above and XV century Baptism below — the latter originally facing the other side out so that the brick frame and floriated border showed on the left instead of on the right. The inscription at present over Baptism in Jordan con- sists of two of the original inscriptions sewed to- gether, the last third referring to Baptism and the first two-thirds to Confirmation {Restored to their proper position in plates nos. 46 and 47). The old French of the missing part of the Confirmation in- scription has been filled out by me (See the number of the Burlington mentioned above), so that the whole reads (translated): "In order that mortals may surrender themselves to strength, prelates give them confirmation and ton- sure, and similar holy offices. The patriarch Jacob did this, who placed his hands on two children." The fragment of the inscription referring to Baptism reads: "Writers of scripture," "by holy baptism purified," "water of Jordan washed," with the first two-thirds of the three lines missing. The last two subjects of the tapestry are Marriage and Extreme Unction. These sacraments in their origin are shown in the still united scenes labelled the Marriage of Adam and Eve, and King David receiving the Unction of Honor. The XV century iitUUtiiUiUiUtiili 392 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN celebration of these two sacraments is shown in the two scenes labelled Marriage and Extreme Unction — mounted wrong side out, but reversed to their original position on plates nos. I and 2. The two inscriptions read: "And Extreme Unction, which against temptation by its virtue gives strength, was instituted by the unction of honour given at Hebron to King David to increase his power." "The sacrament of marriage, by which the human race multiplies, was instituted by God, when he created Adam and from his rib formed Eve, who was of women the first and sweetheart to Adam." Note how a round Gothic column with jewelled capital separates the last two sacraments, in both the upper and the lower series. The other scenes were similarly separated, as shown by the column on the right of Baptism in Jordan, and on the left of XV century Marriage. Note also the brick frame above the upper series of Marriage and Extreme Unction and below the lower series, and at the right of both, and how this brick frame gives the point of view of the spectator as below on the right. All the personages in all the scenes are beautifully backgrounded with a damask pattern that sets them strongly forth, while underfoot is a tiled floor, — except in Baptism where floriation and water take its place. Fascinating and decorative to a wonderful degree is the floriation outside the brick frame of Baptism and below the brick frame of the last ittafflrowHm rfMU»U«Ui»i»ttau 394 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN two scenes. Fascinating, too, is the way the flori- ation creeps up over the brick frame of XV century Marriage. The weave of this tapestry is masterful, with long hatchings that interpret marvellously the elaborately figured costumes and damask ground. It will be noted that all the personages are clothed except the two being baptised. Even Adam and Eve show little bare flesh. Far different this from the nude and semi-nude figures inherited by the Renaissance from ancient Rome. (For other facts about the Mazarin tapestry, see chapter II.) The XV century designers and weavers of tapestry worked along the right lines. They knew the possibilities of the high-warp loom and utilised them to the utmost. But they did not attempt the im- possible in the way of open sky and water and unpat- terned surfaces, which are what hampered the efforts of later weavers and finally caused tapestry to become one of the neglected arts. The five Late Gothic tapestries, lent to the Metropolitan Museum by the late Alfred W. Hoyt, are also of unusual merit from the weave point of view. They represent the antithesis of paint tex- ture. The hatchings are long and strong and numer- ous. The ribs are coarse and obvious, but flat and delightfully irregular. The sizes and subjects of the five tapestries are: No. i. A Garden Party, 8 feet 9 1/4 x 13 feet 1 1/4. No. 2. A Garden Party with Music, 8 feet 7 5/8 x 17 feet 7 1/2. iiimii. Mh&Mim-:■-"= - — " mm — wm. — ■»■■ -»'^>^sv.- <--*■*■ -" ; ^iis "%-C:; *flP iKr r rv^. H ^ -^--. KfST m ; '■.■'■•,■*' 2 X 396 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN No. 3. The Triumph of Time, 13 feet 3 3/4 x 9 feet 11 1/8. No. 4. The Triumph of Cupid, 12 feet 9 3/4x9 feet 5. No. 5. An Unidentified Story, 12 feet 10 3/4 x 10 feet 9 3/8. All were woven in Brussels in the first quarter of the XVI century and all are distinctly Flemish in character. No. 1, illustrated on colour plate no. II, is especially interesting in design, compo- sition, and weave, and is in excellent condition. No. 1 has 16 ribs to the inch, while the others have 12. It belongs to the same school of design and work- manship as the Scene from a Novel in the Hoentschel Collection lent by Mr. Morgan to the Metropolitan Museum. While the latter is nearly square (12 feet 3 by 12 feet ij), it so closely resembles No. 1 in other respects as to make comparison important. The central figure of both is a woman seated on a throne. In the Hoentschel tapestry she carries in her right hand the sceptre of royalty, and with the aid of her secretaries at the table below is preparing letters to be despatched by the mounted messengers visible in the extreme upper corners. The action in No. 1 is purely social. The scene is entirely out-of-doors with no pavilion to protect the presiding lady. On the right new arrivals are being welcomed. On the left a gentleman assists a lady to rise. Elsewhere couples in animated conversation. Both tapestries have the sky-line at the extreme top with only a narrow band of landscape and trees showing through. Both have a narrow foreground of flowers and herbage, and in both every inch is well covered HWIMHHW^^u^iUtflHBBIIIHilUU^Miia^iii^nU^u^^^u, <*«iMMUiM«K HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 397 with pattern or design. The costumes in both are noteworthy for richness and elegance. No. 2, a Garden Party with Music, immediately suggests the Garden Musical that was No. 12 of the Lowengard Collection, sold in Paris in 1910, and also the Garden Concert illustrated in Guichard French. In all three the personages are elegantly costumed. Especially noteworthy are the fur trimmings on the costumes of No. 2 that is crowded with human figures, containing thirty-four large personages be- sides two small ones in the background. The whole scene is lively and gay. Conversation is animated. On the left the master of ceremonies kneels to greet a lady who is followed by a group issuing from a castle. Over the doorway are represented two winged cherubs holding a cartouche with heraldic emblem. Below them a band of ornament with winged cherub-head. Above the master of cere- monies a group of four, three ladies and a gentleman. One of the ladies offers another a plate of fruit. To the right of the group, a lady with stringed in- strument, of mandolin shape, and attentive cavalier. Below them a lady with small instrument, strung like a harp, and also an attentive cavalier. In the middle of the tapestry a group of four, three ladies and a gentleman. One of the ladies offers another a very attractive plate of fruit. Behind them, with only the square canopy and upper part of the back showing, a throne. The pattern of the back shows a double-headed eagle. On the right of the tapestry a group of three, two ladies and a gentleman. One 398 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN lady offers the other a covered jewelled cup. Behind them two groups of three, and one of two. In the upper left corner of no. 3, the Triumph of Time, appears the Latin caption in Gothic letters Tempus vincit famam (Time conquers fame). Time is pictured as a young woman seated on a chariot drawn by four spirited and richly caparisoned horses, and holding a clock aloft in her left hand. Across the top of the tapestry runs the zodiacal band picturing the Scorpion (partially hidden behind Time), the Scales, the Virgin, the Lion, the Crab. Fame {fame) lies helpless in the lower right corner of the tapestry, and the rest of the foreground is occupied by a procession of the Olympic deities in pairs — Jupiter (iupiter), and Juno leading the way. Jupiter carries a sceptre in his right hand. In No. 4, the Triumph of Cupid, the central figure high upon a pedestal that rises from an altar red with curling flames, is the winged and blindfolded God of Love (cupido). He is in the act of loosing an arrow from his bow. In the foreground a pro- cession of famous men and women, whom Cupid attacked with his darts, headed by Julius Caesar (iulius cesar). Beside him, Cleopatra (cleop). Be- hind him, Bathsheba (bersabea), Solomon (so-omon), Helen (helena), Brutus {brutus). Caesar carries a sword upraised in his right hand, and the imperial globe with cross in his left. Those personages strongly resemble the Olympic deities in No. 3, and it is probable that nos. 3 and 4 were woven as part of the same set. Interesting to compare with them iiMliiiliiiUii!',t!!!ii HERCULES PLATE no. 399. Hercules Killing the Dragon that guards the Hesperides, a Renaissance tapestry in the Imperial Austrian Collection. One of a set of 9 picturing the Story of Hercules. Three are signed with the Audenarde mark and all with what is probably the monogram of Michel Van Orley. 400 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN are the Triumphs in the Imperial Austrian Collec- tion and at Hampton Court. No. 5 is earlier in style than the others. The columns of the royal pavilion and the curved railing in front of it are jewelled like the columns in the Mazarin and many other Gothic tapestries. The central figures of the tapestry are a king and a queen seated on a throne at the entrance of the royal pavilion. Both carry sceptres, he in his right hand, she in her left hand. She with uplifted right hand appears to favour the suit of suppliants below them. He by the position of his left hand appears to deny it. The curtains of the pavilion behind them are draped back, and courtiers crowd forward eager to see and hear. The suppliants below them consist of one aged man and three ladies. Below them are also courtiers and visitors, six on the left, five on the right. The upper corners of the tapestry picture other scenes of the same story. On the left the aged man with hands tied is being brought in by two constables. A lady stands by in helpless distress, hands clasped in suppliance. On the right, a lady kneeling presents a flower to a child sitting on the lap of his mother, who is seated in a chair with high figured fiat back. On one side of the chair a lady, on the other a nurse. The story may be Biblical and may be Romantic. I am inclined to think the latter, and to interpret the three scenes as meaning the Arrest, the Queen's Intercession, the Expression of Thanks. The grouping of the third scene is apparently copied from a Madonna group in which ;lf!l:l MtiimiimuMMiuMimmmi 402 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Saint Barbara (or Saint Anne) presents a flower to the child Christ. (Compare pages 262 and 313 of volume II of Reinach's Repertoire de Peintures du Moyen Age et de la Renaissance.) Unusually interesting is the border of the Late Renaissance tapestry in room F6 of the Metropolitan Museum (See plate no. 401). It is simply alive with animals — fish below and birds above, with deer and goats and unicorns and foxes in the side borders. The picture panel inside is lighted from above on the left, as is shown by the shadow lines on the inside of the left and upper borders. It is crowded with details, the main feature being a Roman amphitheatre (the Colosseum) in action. In the ring a bear crushes one dog and is worried by two others. Also two bull-fights are in progress and there is a bustle of horsemen and footmen. The back of the amphitheatre is cut away to give a view of the interior and of beyond where stretch wooded hills and castles, with a narrow line of sky above. The foreground is crowded with large personages, some on foot and some mounted. The central figure is the Emperor Titus on horseback. Two attendants lead a lion fearlessly. A dog barks fretfully. In the right corner the broken-off foot of a Colossus statue shows Romulus and Remus and the wolf nurse in low relief. The costumes are Roman, but the figures are well clothed. The tapestry is signed with the monogram of W. S. — perhaps Willem Segers of Brussels — on the right- hand selvage near the bottom (See plate no. 401). mm, mimmwi ESTHER PLATE no. 403. Two Scenes from the Story of Esther, a tapestry in the Hoentschel Collection, lent to the Metro- politan Museum by Mr. Morgan. One the left, in the upper corner, Esther (hesterl seeking admission; below, Esther kneeling before Ahasuerus (Xerxes 1 crowned and with sceptre, who listens favorably to her petition. On the right, the banquet given by Esther to Ahasuerus, which it is interesting to compare with the Esther and Ahasuerus scenes in the Mazarin tapestry. The Latin captions below tell the story of how HIC RUMOR EXECRABIBILIS REVELATTJR. SED REGINA MESTA DOLENS AC HUMILIS . DOLI FUIT MEDECINA "this awful rumor is revealed, but the queen sad, grieving and humble was medicine for the guile.' 404 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN Especially interesting and well worth reproducing on the tapestry looms of to-day, for the decoration of church or home, are the two wide but not deep Gothic tapestries in the Hoentschel Collection (each 5 feet 2 by 12 feet 4) picturing, one the Slaughter of the Innocents, the other Christ in the Temple and the Marriage of Cana. These tapestries repre- sent the art at its best. But they were not expensive to weave, in the XV century or now. A perfectly fascinating tapestry, also lent from the Hoentschel Collection, shows Esther before Ahasu- erus, and is attributed to Brussels under date of 1450. There are woven inscriptions in Latin. The two scenes are separated by a square Gothic column that recalls the Burgundian tapestries in the next room. The scene on the left shows Ahasuerus receiving Esther in formal state, while on the right they are banqueting. In room F15 of the Metropolitan Museum is a tapestry illustrating Commerce and signed D M beauvais. D M stand for De Menou, who was director of the tapestry works at Beauvais from 1780 to 1793. The colouring is not particularly good and there are about 18 ribs to the inch. This tapestry illustrates the degradation that the art of tapestry design and weaving had suffered in three centuries, but it is by no means a fair example of Menou 's work. The ten large tapestries hanging high in the main hall of the Decorative Arts Wing all belong to the Baroque period and are as inferior to the products mHHHU ilftMiittKUttKiiUUHiUUfflil! 406 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN of the centuries before the XVII as they are superior to most of the product of centuries after. The signatures of the weavers, leefdael or strecken and the double B with shield of Brussels can be clearly seen in the bottom selvage of all the five in the Cleopatra series. The story of each scene is inserted in Latin in the cartouche in the upper border, while the corresponding position in the lower border is filled by small landscapes differ- ent in each tapestry and all interesting (See plate no. 277). Of the five Baroque tapestries opposite these, three illustrate scenes from the life of Jacob (two of them being from the same set as the borders show) and two illustrate scenes from the life of Moses. All were lent to the Museum by Mrs. Archibald Thompson. Delightfully decorative are the two Renaissance Grotesque panels lent by Mr. George Blumenthal. These are excellent examples of the weavers' art. They remind one of the Renaissance Grotesque tapestries sold at the White Sale 1907, but are smaller and of more excellent design and execution. At the head of the main stairway of the Decorative Arts Wing hang two of a series of tapestries picturing scenes from Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered. On each tapestry the text of the verse illustrated appears in a cartouche at the top. About the attribution of these tapestries there is no uncertainty, for one of them has the woven signature of P. ferloni of Rome, and the date 1739. ■:::, ;( iii^i^i!M;iiiiiiliilI3ilJl!ii HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 407 Far from the other tapestries, in room D3, containing armour, are two Flemish Renaissance tapestries lent by Miss Eloise L. Breese, and one Italian Baroque lent by Mr. Frederick W. Rhine- lander. Their juxtaposition affords an excellent opportunity to study the distinctions between Renaissance and Baroque. The former have narrow but most interesting borders of pronouncedly Re- naissance character and the flesh-tones are superior in design and weave. The personages are many and the costumes interesting. Both costumes and architecture show that the designer must have been an Italian intimately acquainted with Rome of his own day, and before. The subject of the two Breese tapestries is the Rape of the Sabine Women, and the weave is twenty ribs to the inch, but none too fine for the difficulties presented by the flesh-tones portrayed. Technically the weave is of unusual excellence, and shows what could still be done on the loom by men familiar with Gothic practice. That the designer also understood something about tapestry requirements and possi- bilities is clear from the pains he took to fill the surface with detail. If the tapestries had been more completely and skilfully repaired, the skill of the weaver would be much more apparent, many of his best effects now being lost because of reds that have faded and silk that has been only partially replaced. Very interesting to compare with these three tapestries are three woven from the same cartoons 408 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN (both panels and borders), but apparently of later date, exhibited by M. Braquenie at Brussels in 1880, and illustrated in Belgium 1880. While woven from the same cartoons, the Braquenie tapestries present some notable differences, one of them being opposite in direction and left-handed, while the other two include either more or less of the subject, one of the Breese panels containing only about half of the corresponding Braquenie panel. It pictures the Sabine women playing the part of peacemakers between their Sabine fathers and their Roman husbands, and is temporarily not on exhibition. Of the reds that once enriched Mr. Rhinelander's tapestry, merely suggestions are left. The yard- wide border is characteristically true to the Baroque period, with its massive columns and entablatures, deep shadows and nude cherubs. Especially char- acteristic are the huge cartouche, with reversing scrolls in the top border, and the huge shell with masque and festoons in the bottom border. Balanced massiveness that sometimes degenerates into grand- iosity is the keynote of the Baroque period, and massiveness is the first impression one receives from this tapestry. The subject is Moses Striking the Rock, as told by the Latin inscription in the cartouche above that reads: sllex ictibus moysi obediens. Erubescat cor hominis. Dei beneficiis contumax. Which, translated, reads: "The rock obedient to iiftffliiiWiiiiiUUUiiJtiffllH HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 409 the blows of Moses shames the heart of man, stub- born against the blessings of God." The signature in the bottom selvage is that of Bernardino Van Asselt who had a factory in Florence in the latter half of the XVII century. The figures are large and well clothed but there is too much open sky and the ground and rocks show the influence of paint technique. The weave is good and comparatively coarse — about fifteen ribs to the inch. The beards and hair of the personages are especially well executed. But the composition does not compare with that of the old Gothic tapestries. The inside frame shadows show the light as coming from above on the right. Of all the Renaissance tapestries with which I am acquainted none please me more than the two large ones in room F8 of the Decorative Arts Wing. They are splendid examples of the best that the most skilful weaver could accomplish, and the designs are not excelled by any Renaissance tapestry de- signs with which I am acquainted. The grounds are well covered, especially of the chamber scene, and the decorative idea is kept consistently upper- most. Particularly would I call attention to the gold in basket weave used so skilfully and lavishly in the lower border of both tapestries. Also to the free and effective use of silver in the chamber scene. Silk also was used when silk would help, but never recklessly as in later centuries when false virtuosity dominated the tapestry ateliers. The moment one GOTHIC AND RENAISSANCE PLATE no. 410. Above, the Capture of Jerusalem by Titus (Gothic). Below, the Capture of a City (Renaissance). These two tapestries, both Flemish, one in the Metropolitan Museum, the other sold at public sale several years ago in New York, afford a good opportunity for comparison, between the Gothic and the Renaissance methods of portrayal. But it should be noted that the lower tapestry is typically Flemish Renaissance, absolutely free from Italian character- istics, and full of details retained from the Gothic. mmmm mm\mmMm\uumm 412 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN looks at these tapestries one knows that the master weaver who superintended their execution was at the head of his craft. Fortunately we are able to name this great weaver, for, woven in threads of gold on the lower edge of the right-hand border of both tapestries, he left his initials W V P combined into a monogram that appears on many tapestries in the Royal Spanish Collection, which we know by documentary evidence were the product of Willem Van Pannemaker's looms. And if we did not have other evidence, the signature itself, as well as the similarity in style and technique, would compel us to make the same attribu- tion. On the bottom border of one of Mr. Blumen- thal's two tapestries, the double B and shield of Brussels appear. The corresponding part of the other tapestry having worn away was replaced by the repairers without the signature. During the middle of the XVI century, Willem Van Pannemaker was first among makers of tapestry, and everything to which his monogram is attached possesses unusual merit. The borders of the two tapestries before us are adapted copies of the borders that appear on the Acts of the Apostles tapestries in the Spanish Collec- tion, designed by Raphael and woven soon after the weaving of the original set. These tapestries repre- sent in Renaissance work what the Mazarin tapestry represents in Gothic work — the extraordinary results that can be obtained by employing gold and silver thread generously in addition to silk and the basic wool. The subject is the Story of Herse. The HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 413 original series (of which there is a complete set in the possession of the Duchess de Denia of Spain) contained eight tapestries, and depicted the meeting and courtship of Mercury and Herse. The nuptial scene is shown by No. 6 in the series, the chamber tapestry 14 feet by 18, illustrated in colour plate no. III. No. 8 in the series, the larger of Mr. Blumenthal's two tapestries (14 feet 5 by 24), shows on the left Aglauros being changed to stone by Hermes, before the eyes of her horrified father Cecrops the first king of Athens. The penalty was inflicted because Aglauros refused to permit Hermes admission to her father's residence and to Herse. Then Mercury soars up over the palace back to Olympus, as pictured on the right of the tapestry, all the courtiers and attendants following his flight with awe-stricken faces, while Cecrops in the foreground lets fall his sceptre. The only German tapestries in the Museum are six small and rather crude, but not unpleasing, Renais- sance panels given by Mr. Morgan. Each is 39X inches high by 29^ inches wide, and all are enriched with gold and silver. All are topped with a white panel carrying a verse in German from the New Testament appropriate to the scene illustrated, and all are bordered with columns and bear the mono- grams of both A R and I C M. All of the tapestries are also dated, two 1592, two 1595, one 1598, one 1600. The subject of the set is the Story of Christ, and three of the pieces — Christ Washing the Feet of 414 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN the Apostles, Christ Bearing the Cross, and the Ascension — are after Albrecht Diirer's woodcuts of the Small Passion. Two of the others, the Elevation of the Cross, and the Pentecost, are attributed to the school of Diirer, and the sixth, the Baptism of Christ, to Martin Schongauer. For illustrations, see plate no. 415. Thomson attributes the A R monogram to Alsace but without giving his reasons. A large Gothic tapestry, one of the most important in the world — belonging to the Museum and hanging in the main entrance hall — is the Capture of Jeru- salem by Titus, acquired by purchase in November, 1909. It is a masterpiece of the weaver's art and the design and colourings are characteristic of the Golden Age of tapestry. It closely resembles in style the four Caesar tapestries now in Berne — a present from the Burgundian Duke Charles the Bold to Guillaume de la Beaume, and seized by the Swiss when they pillaged the latter's castle in the war that ended the Burgundian supremacy. The central figure is the Emperor Titus on horseback with the captured Ark of the Covenant on a wagon before him. In the foreground soldiers are disembowelling Jews for the money they had swallowed in order to save it. The story is fully told in the "Mistere de la Vengeance Nostre Seigneur Jesuscrist," a XV century miracle play summarized and partially reprinted in Reims Peintes. Other events of the capture of the city are pictured on the right and on the left with the utmost spirit and vigour. The tapestry has improved greatly by cleaning since it .itmUliOMUkUUSiitiKlllUBMiUIUU. H 15 ■Qrt fc « < ■c IB X! i a; a u. &3 c ca * d 3 ti trt '5 > •J 2 c c J3 ,3 S d U d 0) d H u * i_l V a) j5 S J3 £ s o H 0) d o w o a a o 0) u CD Et CD o H a CD o c: a> w 1 d 2 J .S3 s s J 416 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN came into the possession of the Museum and was first hung (See plates nos. 410, 411). For description of Mr. Morgan's five Gobelin Don Quixote tapestries, see my chapter on the Gobelins; and of the Mortlake tapestries, lent by Mrs. Von Zedlitz and Mr. Hiss, my chapter on Mortlake. i^iMiiiiiraM GENERAL INDEX References following a star are to illustrations. Titles of the different pieces of sets have been omitted from the index, because easier of reference in the text, as follows: Raphael's Acts of the Apostles, 90, 149, 150; Vulcan and Venus, 122, 124; English Royal Residences, 139; Hero and Leander, 148, 149; the Royal Residences of Louis XIV, 166; the Story of Louis XIV, 168, 170; the Story of Alexander, 171; the Chambers of the Vatican, 172; the Sujets de la Fable, 172; the Gallery of Saint-Cloud, 173; the Portieres of the Gods, 174; Ovid's Metamorphoses, 175, 176; Opera Fragments, 179; Stage Scenes, 179, 180. By Boucher for the Gobelins, 182; Battles of the Swedish King Charles XI, 190, 191; the Chinese Set of Vernansal, Fontenay, and Dumons, 192; Houasse's Metamorphoses, 192; Oudry's New Hunts, 193; Oudry's Verdures, and Fables of La Fontaine, 194. By Boucher for Beauvais, 194, 195; the Barberini Life of Christ, 224; Goya's Spanish Scenes, 227. 228; the Story of David at the Cluny Museum, 282; De Troy's Story of Esther, 282; the Story of Abraham, 286, 288; the Trojan War, 301, 302; the Story of Scipio, 304; the Battle of Pavia, 308; the Conquest of Tunis, 310; the Reims Toiles Peintes, 356; tapestries in the Cathedral of Angers, 354. List of Marks and Weavers' Signatures, 268-273. Aaron, 67 Abraham, 114, 284, 286, 288 Abraham and Isaac, 34, 156 Absalom, 298 Achilles, 159, 190, 196 *3«3 Acts of the Apostles. See Raphael's Acts of the Apostles Adam, 378, 384, 390, 392 * 19 Adoration of the Magi and Shep- herds *293 Aelst, Pieter Van, 86 /Eneid, The, 295 *3»5 Aglauroz, 413 Ahasuerus, 264, 340, 382, 404 Aix-en-Provence, 194, 326 Alba, Duke of, 86 Albert, Archduke of the Nether- lands, 99, 102, 106 * 377 Alcibiades, 196 Alexander the Great, 20, 171, 196, 276, 297, 298, 306 417 418 INDEX Alexander the Great *3»i American Looms, 206-216 * 207, 209, 211, 215, 247, 249, 251, 253 Ampe, Josse, 106 Andromache, 296 Anet, Chateau d', 154 Angelis, Desiderio de, 225 Angels, Praising and Ministering, 136 Angers Apocalypse, 15, 33, 36, 38- 41, 44.45, 267, 276, 354,356 *39 Angers, Cathedral of, 51, 300, 354 Angers, Abbey of Ronceray near, 70 Anglesey, Lord, 17 Anguier, M., 164 Animals Fighting, 173, 192 *333 Animals in Tapestries, 48-52, 54, 58, 264 Anjou, Duke of, 38, 297 Anne of Denmark, 115 Anne of England, Queen, 117, 350 Annunciation of Our Lady, 42 Antony and Cleopatra, 179 Antwerp, 99, 227 Apocalypse. See also Angers Apoc- alypse Apollo * 103, 307 Apostles. See Raphael's Acts of the Apostles; Christ and the Apostles Apostles, Story of the, 113 Arabesques. See Grotesques Arabesque Months, 172, 173 Arachne, Story of, 296 Arazzeria Medicea, 220 Arazzi, 360. See also Arras Arden, 216 Ariadne and Bacchus, 22 Aristotle, 196 Arms, Coats of, 106, 117, 119, 124, 125, 126, 142, 144, 148, 191, 223, 290 * 183, 187 Arnault, 190 Arras, 33, 42, 43, 86, 99, 141, 146, 153, 232-235, 237, 239, 284,295 *233 Arras, Counterfeit, 260 Artemisia, Mausolus and, 154, 344 * 155 Arthur, King, 297, 298, 300 Arts, The, 179 Aspasia, 196 Asselt, Bernardino Van, 222, 409 Assisi, Don Francisco d', 160, 177 Assumption, 201 Astier, Colonel d', 94, 305 Astrsea, 196 Aubusson, Tapestry Works at, 128, 132, 134, 138, 166, 198-205, 214, 232 * Colour plate no. IV, 203 Aubusson, Pierre d', 50 Audenarde. See Oudenarde Audran, 22, 30 * 175 Audran, Claude, 174, 176, 205, 237, 321 * 175 Audran, Jean, 163, 177, 180, 182 Audran, Michel, 163 Augustus, King of Poland, 193 Augustus, the Roman Emperor, 306, 384 Aulhac Tapestries, The, 58, 256, 301, 302, 326 .Aumale, Duke d', 122 Aunes (Ells), French and Flemish, 48, 119, 124, 125, 170, 184, 276- 278 INDEX 419 Austrian Collection, Imperial, 82, 159, 284, 286, 288, 290, 306, 308, 332, 400 *97, 291, 367, 375, 399 Autumn *3»3 Auvergne, 200, 201 Auxerre, Cathedral of, 66 Avalos Family. See Pescara Avery Library. See Columbia Uni- versity Library Axelstierna, Count Johan, 120 Aylesford, Battle of, 139 Babou, Philibert, 154 Bacchanals, The, 115 Bachiacca, 220 * 219 Backgammon, Game of *337 Badin, Jules, 330, 332 Bailie des Roses, 51, 264, 374 *53 Baillet, Bishop Jehan, 66 Bale Museum, 298 Banquet Scene, Flemish, 27 Baptism, 62, 388, 390, 392 Barberini, 158, 222, 223 Barcelona Courthouse, 366 Barcheston, Tapestry Works at, 142 Bardac Collection, 374 Baroque Tapestries, 368, 404, 406, 407-409 Basse Lisse. See Low Warp Bataille, Nicolas, 38, 153, 217, 267 Bathsheba, 20, 280, 282, 398 *28 5 Batons, 276, 278 Battles of the Swedish King Charles XI, 190 Baudoin, M., 166 Baumgarten, William, 140, 206 Bayard. See Chevalier Bayard Bayeu, F., 228 Bayeux Tapestry, 36, 237, 326 Beaume, Guillaume de la, 60, 414 Beaune, 64, 262 *69 Beauvais, 22, 24, 90, 128, 134, 179, 180, 182, 185-198, 201, 214, 232, 240, 243, 246, 330, 332, 404 * 187, colour plate no. I Beauvais Cathedral, 82, 90, 190 Beauvais Tapestries in America, 16 Behagle, Philip, 90, 189-191 Belleville Tapestries, 198 Belton, 146 Benedetto da Milano, 222 Benood, William, 145 Berain, 189, 190 Berghen, Peeter Van Der, 306 Berlin, 226, 227 Berlin Museum, 82, 86 Bernard, Michel, 45 Berne Historical Museum, 51, 58, 268, 388, 414 Berri, Duke of, the brother of Charles V, 42, 297 Berthier, 92 Berwick and Alba, Duke of, 130, 279 *28l Besche, 242, 243 Besnier, Nicolas, 22, 24, 193-195 Bess of Hardwycke, 143 Bethlehem, Star of, 136 * 135 Bezons, The Fair at, 192 Bible des Pauvres, 67 Bible in Tapestries, 279-294 Biest, Hans Van Der, 226 Bievre, The, 157, 158, 210 Blamard, Louis, 160 Blumenthal, George, 32, 52, 63, 275, 300, 342, 406, 412, 413 *37i 420 INDEX Bobbins, 238, 239, 244, 245, 254 Bodleian Library, 143 Bohemians, 196 Boileau, Etienne, 242 Bordeaux, Arms of *i83 Borgia, Csesar, 199 Borders of Tapestries, 58, 64, 66, 82, 88, 120, 126, 143, 144, 150, 151, 156, 158, 166, 170, 174, 176, 177, 237, 266, 274, 275, 361, 374- 388, 390, 412 Boreas and Orythia, 22 Borcht, P. V. D., 24 Boscoreale Frescoes, 314, 316 *3i5 Boston Fine Arts Museum, 64, 72, 244, 268, 323 * 73. 349 Boston Public Library, 323, 324 Boteram, Rinaldo, 217 Botticelli's Primavera, 136 Boucher, Francois, 22, 24, 179, 180, 182, 184, 194, 195, 213, 237, 260, 318, 332, 348 * Colour plate no. I, 181 Boulle, M., 164 Boussac, Chateau de, 50 Boy Between Two Ladies, 52 Boyes, The Naked, 118. See also Children Playing Boy ton Manor, 138 Brabant, Duke of, 80, 81 Bradshaw, 152 Bramantino, 222 Braquenie, M., 408 Breese, Miss Eloise L., 407 Broche, 242, 243 Bronzino, 220 Bronx River, 200, 208 Bruges, 99, 267, 388 Bruges, Hennequin de, 38, 267 Brugghcn, T. V., 306 Brussels, 21, 22, 24, 28, 84, 88, 96, 98, 99, 152, 158, 166, 171, 173, 192, 232, 268, 290, 366, 394, 402 * 277, 303, 335- 343, 383 Brussels Mark, 88, 125, 268, 270, 292, 306, 308, 322, 406, 412 * 268, 270 Brussels Museum, 20, 36, 54, 60, 62, 63, 77, 94, 226, 280, 300, 356, 384 *55. 79. 329. 33L370 Buckingham, Duke of, 106, 108, 124,125 Bullfighting, Children Playing at, 228 Burgos, Cathedral of, 280 Burgundian, 99, 153 Burgundian Sacraments, 45, 262, 274, 312, 314, 386, 388, 390, 392, 394. See also Seven Sacra- ments, 30 * 46, 47 Burgundy, Duke of, the brother of Charles V, 42, 45, 99, 297. See also Philip the Good, Charles the Bold Burley, 148 Burne-Jones, Sir Edward, 136, 255, 338 Burning up Tapestries, 15, 16 Burton, Dm, no, in, 125 Bute, Marquis of, 139 Byzantine Tapestries, 297 Caesar, 60, 297, 300, 398, 414 Calais, Capture of *377 Callet, Antoine, 184 Calvary, 42, 63, 342 *339 Candid, Peter, 226 Canterbury, Archbishop of, 74 Canterbury Cathedral, 74 ]«H!iiiiMiilti!lH INDEX 421 Cantonniere * 211 Captions of Tapestries, 34, 36, 38, 43, 44, 64, 67, 68, 70, 72, 78, 81, 106, 108, 119, 170, 274, 286, 290, 300, 302, 306, 308, 358, 382, 386-388 Cardenas, Don Alonzo de, 86 Care of Tapestries, 317-322, 414, 416 Carna valet, Musee, 156 Caron, Antoine, 154, 344 Cartoons and Sketches, 28, 30, 38, 48, 70, 77, 81, 82, 88, 120, 150, 154, 164, 170, 172, 173, 190, 194, 196, 204, 240, 241, 252, 256, 288, 301, 350, 360 *8 5 Casanova, 196 Cassini, Signor Candido, 189 Catharine the Great, 184, 228, 374 * 229 Catherine of France, 100 Catherine de' Medicis, 154, 344 *355 Cato, 34 Cecrops, 413 Cephale and Procris, 192 Chace, The, 138 Chambord, Chateau de * 167 Charlemagne, 34, 63, 160, 297, 298, 300 * 371 Charles I of England, 82, 86, 105, 106, 108, 109, no, in, 114, 115, 117, 119, 120, 148, 217, 235. 259 Charles II of England, 114, 115, 118 Charles V, the Emperor, 45, 60, 80, 82, 94, 96, 98, 99, 102, 262, 268, 274, 276, 292, 306, 340, 354 * 79 Charles V, King of France, 38, 42, 297 Charles VI of France, 100 Charles VII of France, 100 Charles VIII, Equestrian Portrait of, 52, 262 Charles XI of Sweden. See Battles of Charles the Bold, 51, 60, 99, 100, 340, 388, 414 Charles Gustave of Sweden, 120, 122 Charolais, Count of. See Charles the Bold Charron, A. C, 22, 180, 195, 196 Chartres Museum, 96 Cherubs, 180 Chevalier Bayard, 58, 256, 301, 302, 326, 364 Chevreul, 235 Chicago Art Institute, 140, 206 Chicago Society of Antiquarians, 140, 206 Children Playing, 115, 145, 188, 192, 264 * 265, 387 Child Gardeners, 166 Children Playing at Bull-fighting, 228 Chinese Grotesque, 190 Chinese Scenes, 24, 192, 196, 260 *203 Cholmondeley, Marquis of, 115 Christ and the Apostles, 34 Christ. See Angers Apocalypse, 41; also Passion of Our Lord, 42 Christ, Life of, 63, 67, 70, 74, 76, 156, 223, 360, 404, 413, 414 *7i, 341- 4i5 Christian IV of Denmark, 109, 115 Christiania, 230, 365 Christiansen, Mile. Augusta, 230 Church, The, 382 422 INDEX City Champion, 139 Clarke, Sir C. Purdon, 56 Cleaning Tapestries, 320-322 Clement XI, Pope, 225 Cleopatra, 398, 406 *277 Cleveland, Duchess of, 139 Cleyn, Francis, 109, 112, 117, 118, 120, 148, 275 Clorinda, 159 Clovis, 60, 62, 64, 160, 358 *299 Cluny Museum, 48, 50, 54, 62, 63, 66, 156, 264, 280 * 49, 283, 285, 363 Colbert, 153, 164, 173, 186, 201, 202 Coles Collection, 21, 374 Coligny, Admiral, 96 Collections and Catalogues of them, 346, 348 Colosseum, The Roman, 402 *40i Columbia University Library, 40, 323, 356 Comans, Marc de, 105, 106, 157, 159, 162, 166, 223, 328 Commerce, 21 Commonwealth, The, 113, 260 Como, Cathedral of, 220 Compiegne, Chateau, 192, 194 Concert, The, 51 *327 Confirmation, 390 Constantine, the Emperor, 63, 159, 160 Constantinople, Bishop of, 267 Coptic Tapestries, 244, 297 Cormon, M., 198 Coucy, Chateau de, 216 Country Sports, 196 Coypel, Antoine, 176, 179 Coypel, Charles, 30, 176, 179, 180, 194, 237, 274 Coypel, Noel, 172, 174, 237 Cozette, Michel-Henry, 163 Cozette, Pierre-Francois, 22, 30, 163, 177, 180, 184 Craight, Peter de, 106 Crane, Sir Francis, 105, 108, 109, no, in, 112, 119 Crane, Captain Richard, 112 Crane, Walter, 134 Creation, The, 62, 218, 279, 280, 340. See also Gerona Creation *28l Credo, the Short; Credo, the Long, 42 Cretif, Marc, 304 Creuse, 200 Cromwell, the Lord Protector, 114, 118, 260, 286 Cronstrdm, 189, 190 Cross, Finding of the, 62 Crow, Sir Sackville, 114, 118, 125, 145 Crucifixion, 42, 280 Cumberland, Duke of, 152 Cupid, 396, 398 *375 Cyrus the Great, 227 Damoiselet, 192 Daphnis and Chloe, 179 Darcel, Alfred, 126, 324, 334 David, 67, 280, 282, 297, 298, 300, 390 ♦283,285, 351 David Instructing Solomon, 136 Davillier Triumph of the Virgin, 63, 268, 384 ♦269 Dearie, J. W., 134, 136, 255 Death of the Virgin, 42 Decius Mus, 306 De Kay, John, 216 Delacroix, Dominique, 163 iHH«Ml!f»H(»»«SlCllllia«HlHU« INDEX 423 Delacroix, Jean, 163 Delafraye, Jean, 163 Delft, 20, 99 ♦287 Delorme, Philibert, 154 Demay, Stephen, 148, 151 Demidoff. See San Donato Sale 1880, in Index of Bibliography Dene, Henri, 74 Denia, Duchess of, 275, 366, 413 Denmark, King of, 184 Deposition from the Cross, 62 Deshays, 195, 196 Desoria, 196 Desportes, Alexandre-Francois, 179 Destree, Joseph, 356, 384 Devonshire, Duke of, 54 *57 Diana, 24, 112, 154, 159 * 175, 221,385 Dido and /Eneas, 113, 159, 306 *3°5 Dolace, John, 142 Don Quixote, 30,45, 176-179, 194, 227, 237, 274, 276, 416 Dortmund Rathaus, 227 Dourdin, Jacques, 42 Dresden Museum, 82 Drouais, 184 Dubois, Ambroise, 159 Dubourg, Maurice, 156 Dumons, 192, 202, 204, 260 Dunkirk, 127 Duplessis, 22, 192, 193 Durante, Pietro, 225 Diirer, Albrecht, 414 Dyck, Antoine Van, 120 Dyes, 235, 254 *253 Eden, Garden of, 280 *I9 Edinburgh, 142 Egypt, 297 Elements, 148, 166, 174 * 165, 335 Elijah, 156 Elizabeth, Queen, 139 Ells. See Aunes Elymas the Sorcerer, 112 Enghien, 99, 264 *26 5 England, 105-152, 324, 326, 328, 366 * 147 England, Arms of, 1 19 Entrefen£tres, 166 Erlanger, Baron d', 62, 87, 279 Eroli, Erulo, 225 Este, 94, 218, 220 Escorial, 227, 228 Esther, 18, 179, 184, 264, 285, 340, 382, 404 * 369, 403 Estrees, Count d', 116 Eton College Chapel, 136 Eucharist, The Holy, 62, 64, 70, 72 *73 Eve, 67, 378, 384, 390, 392 Exeter College Chapel, 136 * 135 Exeter, John Fifth Earl of, 148 Exposition. See Union Centrale Exposition, Chicago, 139 Expositions, Brussels, 136, 226, 279, 336 Exposition, Milan, of 1874, 90 Expositions, Paris, 68, 136, 205, 230, 338 Expositions des Primitifs Francais, 36, 374 Exposition, St. Louis, 214 Extreme Unction, 388, 392 Eyck, Van, 384 *373 Fames, The, 160 424 INDEX Felletin, 166, 199, 201 Ferdinand, Brother of Charles V, and later Emperor, 80, 81, 99, 102, 262, 340 *79 Fere, Pierrot, 43, 267 Ferloni, Pietro, 21, 225, 406 Ferrara, 218, 220, 259 Ffoulke, Charles M., 223 *35i Field, Columbian Museum, 208 Filleul, The Brothers, 191, 192 Finch, Daniel, Earl of Nottingham, 148 Finch, Pearl, 148 Finland, 230 Fizameau, Sieur, 202 Flanders, 99-104, 128, 141, 154, 232, 243 Flemish, 99-104, 324, 396 Flemish Weavers, 106, 128, 141, 142, 157, 160, 163, 186, 189, 217- 220, 227, 235 Flora, 136 Florence, 189, 220, 221 Florence Tapestry Museum, 220, 280, 354 * 219, 221, 353, 355 Flute, 243 Fontainebleau, 96, 154, 159, 171 Fontenay, Blin de, 192 Foquentin, Pierre, 106 Foucquet, 160, 162 Four Ages, 196 Four Parts of the World, 196 Foussadier, M., 206, 208 France, 153-205, 324 France, Story of, 160, 185 Francis I, The Emperor, 88 Francois I of France, 82, 86, 94, 96, 154. 262, 308, 310, 354; Story of, 160 *3°9 French National Collection, 82, 94, 118, 119, 156, 159, 170, 173, 190, 332, 334 *23,93, 123, 165, 169, 175, 181,391 French Revolution, 196, 197, 204 Fructus Belli. See Fruits of War Fruits of War, 94, 172, 173 *367 Fulham, 151 Furniture Coverings, 152, 182, 184, 197, 198, 199 * Colour plate no. IV Gabriel, 34 Garden Party, 394, 396-398 * Colour plate no. II Genoa, 109, 120 Genouels, M., 166 Gentlemen with the Crane, 52 Genius of the Arts, 180 George V of England, Coronation of, 138 Germany, 202, 230, 324, 413 *3i3, 319. 329, 415 Gerona Creation, The, 36 Geubels, Francois (Frans Van), 96, 306 Gideon, 67 Giulio Romano, 94, 115, 118, 145, 172, 218, 304 *95, 309 Giving of the Roses. See Baillec des Roses Glemham Hall, 146 Gobelin, Jean and Philibert, 157 Gobelin mark * 271 Gobelin master-weavers, List of, 1621, 63 Gobelin Museum, 51, J2, 156, 171, 267 Gobelins, The, 18, 21, 22, 24, 28, 30, 45, 90, 96, 128, 132, 134, 138, ffi&&SDBffiBffl»^^ INDEX 425 153-185, 193. 194. 197. 200, 204, 205, 210, 214, 232, 235, 241, 243, 246, 260, 275, 295, 298,317,330,346,416 *3i, 165, 167, 169, 175, 181, 183, 287,333,357,391 Godfrey de Bouillon, 297, 298, 300 Golden Age of Tapestry, 28, 33, 237, 3i8 Gombaut and Mace, 160 * 161 Gondebaut, Victory over, 60 Gonzaga, 87, 88, 217, 258, 259, 288 Goose Girl, The, 134 Goten. See Vandergoten Gothic-Renaissance Transition, 28, 33, 77 * 69, 75, 373 Gothic Tapestries, 28, 33-76, 153, 264, 267, 268, 280, 311-315, 368,374,394,400,409,412 Gothic Verdures with Personages, 48-52, 216, 264, 374, 376 *207, 215,327 Gower, Lord Ronald, 139 Goya, 227, 228, 362 Grafton, 1 1 1 Granada, Capture of, 322 Grand Prizes, 136, 205, 214 Granson, 60, 100 Great Wardrobe, The King's, 146, 152 Greece, Ancient, 295-297 Grotesques, 21, 94, 142, 174, 176, 192, 220, 237, 205, 406 * 175,353,379 Guarini's Pastor Fido, 160 Guerande, Martin, 72 Guesclin, Bertrand du, 297, 298 Guiffrey, Jean, 94, 304 Guiffrey, Jules, 43, 48, 153, 160, 185, 267, 323, 324, 326, 328, 330, 332, 348 Guild of Saracen Tapestry Makers, 241, 242 Guise, Belles Chasses de. See Hunts of Maximilian, 96 Guise, Charles de, Cardinal of Lorraine, 60 Guise, Duke Francois de, 60 Gutbier, Adolf, 301 Guyot, Laurence, 160 Hachette, Jeanne, 198 Haddon Hall, 146 Halberstadt Tapestries, Cathedral of, 34, 225 Hallenbirch, John, 114 Hallenbirch, Philip, 114 Hamburg, 230 Hamilton Sale, 21 Hampton Court, 82, 87, 114, 115, 118, 217, 284, 350, 352, 400 Hanging Tapestries, 318, 320 *25 Hansen, Madame Frida, 230 *23I Hardwicke Hall Hunting Tapes- tries, 15, 54-58 *57 Harriman, Mrs. E. H., 216 Hatchings of Tapestries, 28, 234, 394 Hatfield House, 144 Haute Lisse. See High Warp Hector, 296, 297, 298, 300, 302 Heilbronner Collection, 52 (twice) Helen of Troy, 296, 398 Hendrix, Jacques, 106 Henrietta Maria, 115 Henri II of France, 96, 154, 344 *355 Henri III of F ranee, 200 Henri IV of France, 105, 156, 158, 160, 184, 200, 246, 328 Henry V of England, 100 426 INDEX Henry VI of England, 56 Henry VIII of England, 74, 82, 86, 284 Henry, H., 138, 140 Hercules * 389. 399 Herkinbald, 268 Hermes (Mercury), 413 Hero and Leander, 112, 118, 120, 148, 149 * 121 Heroes and Heroines. See Preux and Preuses Herse. See Mercury and Herse Herter, Albert, 214 Herter Looms, 214-216 Heyns, Simon, 106 Hickes, Francis, 144. See also Hyckes High Warp, 162, 163, 177, 197, 201, 225, 238-245, 296 *233 Hinart, Louis, 185-189 Hiss, Philip, 122, 416 Hoentschel Collection, 52, 70, 284, 311, 364, 394, 404 Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Prince, 226 Holkham House, 152 Holloburie. See Hallenbirch Holy Grail, Story of, 136, 338 * 129, 131, 133 Holyrood Palace, 145 Homer. See Iliad, Odyssey Honel, Nicolas, 344 Horses, The, 112, 118 Houasse, 192 Houghton Hall, 115, 117 Hoyt, Alfred W., 394 Huet, J. B., 196 Hunt with Falcon, 54 Hunt, The Boar, 139 Hunting the Unicorn, 52 Hunting Scene, Late Gothic * 207 Hunts, The New, 193 Hunts of Maximilian, 18, 96, 172, 173 Hyckes, Richard, 142, 143 Iliad, The, 179, 195, 295 Imitations of Tapestry, 199, 238 Imperial Globe, 279 Indies, The, 172, 173, 179, 184 Indies, Conquest of, 196 Indo-Chinese Tapestries, 146. See also Oriental Scenes Inghele, Josse, 106 Instruments of the Passion, 51 Invasion of England by the Nor- mans, 36 Ireland, 141 Isabel, Archduke of the Nether- lands, 99, 102, 106 Issoire, Courthouse of, 58, 301, 327, 364 Italian Looms, 216-225, 3 2 4i 4°7 * 219, 221, 277 Jack of Diamonds. See Hector, 300, 301 Jacob, Story of, 290, 322, 362, 364, 390 ♦406 Jacquard Picture Tapestries, 30 Jacques, 182, 184 Jaille, Isabelle de la, 70 James I of England, 105, 108, 115, 119, 328 James II of England, 126 James, Prince, the Old Pretender, 126, 127 Jans, Jean (father and son), 90, 162, 163, 170 Jans, Jean-Jacques, 163 Jason, 179 UlMMiMWiJmHMmiMiMHiJMHi iiililifflMUiiHlUUHMUUitiilUliiMJ INDEX 427 Jeanne, Daughter of the Emperor Charles V Jeanne, George Sand's, 50 Jeaurat, Etienne, 179 Jeptha, 156 Jerusalem, Capture of, 58, 414, 416 * 410, 411 Jesus, 62 *37 Joan of Arc, 100, 300 *3I3 Joao de Castro, Deeds of, 306 Joseph, Story of, 220 John the Baptist *373 Joseph II, the Emperor, 184 Joshua, 290, 297, 298, 300 * 291 Jubinal, M., 301 Judas Maccabaeus, 297, 298 Judith and Holophernes, 382 *347 Julius II, Pope, 84, 258 Julius III, Pope, 92 Jiirss, Julius, 227 Juno, 398 Jupiter, 398 Karcher, John and Nicolas, 87, 218, 220 Kerchoe, 192 King's Return, The, 226 * 3 29 Knight, 136 Knight Armed by the Ladies, 51 Knight Leading a Lady's Horse, 52 La Chaise-Dieu, 63, 67, 326 Lafontaine, Fables of, 194 Lady with the Unicorn, 48-51, 52, 264 *49 Lagrenee, 196 La Marche, 200 Lambeth, Tapestry Works at, 145, 146 Larssen, Carl, 230 Last Judgment, 62, 280, 346 Lauingen, 226, 352 Laurent, Henri, 90, 162, 170 Latona *357 Lebarbier, 196 Leblond, Etienne, 163 Leblond, Etienne-Claude, 163 Lebrun, Charles, 90, 148, 153, 160, 162, 164, 166, 170, 171, 173, 236,241,260,275 * 165, 167, 169 Lecoq, Hugues, 68 Lefevre, Jean (father and son), 90, 162, 163, 170 Lefevre, Pierre, 162 * 221 Leefdael, 406 Leinster, Duke of, 139 Leipsic, 193 Le Mans, Cathedral of, 64, 72 *75 Lemke, Ph., 190 Lenoncourt, Reverend Robert de, 64, 262 Lenygon, Francis, 152 Leo X, Pope, 81, 84, 90, 92, 109 Leopold, Prince, 138, 140 Leprince, 196 Lerambert, Henri, 154, 344 Leroux, Louise, 70 Le Roy Collection, Martin, 52 *203 Lessing, Julius, 362 Le Viste, House of, 50 Leyniers, Daniel, 21, 24, 152 Leyniers, Everaert, 288 Leyniers, Jan, 288 Lille, 99 428 INDEX Lisses, The, 248, 250, 252 ♦251 Loretto, Cathedral of, 82 London Bridge, Tournament on, 139 Loriquet, Charles, 358 Lorraine, 286, 288. See also Guise, Charles de Louis-Philippe sale, 18 Louis XI of France, 60, 86, 100 Louis XIII of France, 223 Louis XIV, The Story of, 168-171, 179, 262, 276, 310 * 169, 263 Louis XIV, Conquests of, 189 Louis XIV of France, 82, 122, 126, 160, 162, 178, 189, 235, 246 * 167 Louis XV of France, 178, 182, 195, 199, 202 Louis XV, The Hunts of, 179, 205, 276 Louis XVI of France, 177, 184, 199 Louis of Luxembourg, Count of Saint Pol, 60 Louvois, 173 Louvre, Tapestry Works at, 156 Louvre Cabinet of Designs, 94 Louvre Museum, 62, 63, 72, 94, 96, 256, 268, 280, 304, 384 * 257. 269 Loves of the Gods, 22, 180, 194, 195, 246 Lovett, John, 141 Lowengard Collection, 397 Low Warp, 118, 124, 162, 177, 197, 201, 238-254 ♦247,249, 251,253 Lucas Van Leyden, 96. See also Months of Lucas Luxuria, 142 Lyons Museum, 33, 237, 356 *35 MacVeagh, Hon. Wayne, 362 Madonna with Attendants, 21 Madrid, 24, 128, 227, 362 Maecht, Philip de, 106, in, 117, 148, 158 Magazines that print tapestry ar- ticles, 366 Magdalen, 42 Maincourt, Renaud de, 218 Maincy, Tapestry Works at, 160 Male, M. Emile, 67 Man, Story of, 279 * 17 Mancini, Marquis, 90 Mander, K. V., 344 Mantegna's Triumphs of Caesar, 84, 114, 115, 118, 125, 217, 256-260 Mantua, 87, 88, 217, 258-260 Mantua, Church of Saint Barbara at, 88 Mantua, Marchese of, 84 Margaret of Anjou, 56, 340 Margaret of Austria, 80, 81, 99, 102, 292 Margaret of Parma, 99, 102 Margaret of York, 60, 340 Marie Antoinette, Queen, 184 Marie Leczinska, Queen, 184 Marignan, Battle of, 160 Marigny, Marquis de, 180 Marine Divinities, 190 Marks and Signatures, 21, 22, 24, 43. 44. 57, 64, 68, 70, 72, 74, 88, 90, 115, 116, 119, 122, 125, 143, 144, 148, 152, 160, 163, 170, 190, 191, 222, 225, 267-273, 284, 288, 306, 322, 336, 344, 352, 413 Marquand sale, 20 Marriage, 390, 392 *i83 Marriage of Cana, 311, 312, 404 * 71 ii«2aauj!s?»if««i«!Jitj(««ji»aajBj lulUgMttMUUraiitilHiMMUMMUJ INDEX 429 Marriage of Mercury and Philology. See Quedlimburg Rugs Mars, 1 60 Mars and Venus, 22 Marsyas ♦307 Martin, J. B., 190 Martin V, Pope, 217 Mary of Burgundy, 60, 99, 100 Mary of Hungary, 99, 102, 306 Mathieu, M., 170 Materials of tapestries, 42, 44, 56, 234. 235. 378, 380, 386, 409. 412 Matignon, Charles-Auguste de, 126, 127 Maximilian, The Emperor, 80, 99, 100, 340. See also Hunts of Maximilian Mazarin, Cardinal, 90, 122, 162 Mazarin Inventory', 122-125 Mazarin Tapestry, 32, 63, 234, 280, 284, 336, 378, 380, 383, 384, 386, 400, 412 *3°9 Meaux, Cathedral of, 190 Medici, 220, 224, 259 Meleager and Atalanta, The Hunts of, 160 Menon, Sieur de, 196, 197, 404 Merche, 242, 243 Mercier, Pierre, 202 Mercury. See Quedlimburg Rugs Mercury and Herse, 32, 366, 412, 413 * Colour plate no. Ill Merou, Sieur de, 22, 192, 193 Merry Wives of Windsor, 139 Merton, Tapestry Works at, 127- 138, 266, 339 * 129, 131, 133, 135, 137,233 Metamorphoses, 124, 174, 192, 194, 295 Metropolitan Museum, 21, 30, 45, 56, 58, 70, 106, 120, 121, 177, 223, 228, 264, 274, 297, 312, 348, 350, 388-416 *46, 47, 71, 107, 123, 369, 401, 403, 410, 411, 415, colour plates nos. II and III Metropolitan Museum Library, 40, 91, 323, 324, 340, 356 Mexican serapes, 245 Michael, 34 Michiel, Marc-Antonio, 84, 258 Middlebourg, 99 Mignard, Pierre, 172, 173 *357 Milan, 88 * 29 Military Scenes, 196 Mimata, Canon de, 74 Miracles of the Eucharist. See Eucharist Moliere, The Comedies of, 193, 348 Monmerque, Mathieu, 163 Monnoyer, Baptiste, 164 Monsian, 196 Montague, Ralph, 117 Montespan, Madame de, 189 Montezert, Pierre de, 202 Months, The, 118, 146, 176, 220 * 219, 379, 39i Months of Lucas, 18, 172, 173 Montmorency, Constable, 92 Moorish Tapestries, 297 Morality Plays, 294 Morat, 60, 100 Morris, William, 127-136, 255, 266, 338 Morgan, J. Pierpont, 32, 45, 70, 92, 94, 177, 226, 280, 312, 380, 396, 413, 416 *7i, 369, 403 Morte d'Arthur, 139 430 INDEX Mortlake, 28, 90, 105-127, 156, 158, 232, 235,275,316 * 107, 121, 123 Mortlake mark, 1 1 6, 246, 271 Morton, Cardinal, 74 Moscow Museum, 228 Moses, 67, 96, 156, 171, 222, 288, 406, 408, 409 Mozin, Jean-Baptiste, 163 Munich, 226, 268, 352 Munthe, Gerhard, 230 Musee des Arts Decoratifs, 51, 54, 190 * 27, 345 Muses, The, 160. See also Apollo Museum Guides, 348, 350, 352, 354, 356, 358 Nancy, 100, 288 Nantes, Edict of, 202 Naples Museum, 98, 354 *3°9 Napoleon, 177, 204 Nassaro, Matteo del, 154 Nassau, Prince of, 173 Natoire, Charles, 179, 194 National Society of Sculpture, 212 Nattier, 184 Navajo blankets, 245 Neilson, Jacques, 30, 163, 174, 177, 180, 197 Neptune and Amymone, 22 Netherlands, 99-104, 153, 308 New Testament, 62, 176, 290 New York, 206, 214, 216, 246 New York Museum of Natural His- tory, 244, 262 New York Public Library, 323 New York, Story of, 216 Newton, Lord, of Lyme, 149 Nicolas V, Pope, 218 Night * 221 Nimes Tapestries, 198 Noble Pastoral, 195, 348 Normans. See Invasion of Eng- land by the Normans Norway, 230, 245, 364 ♦231 Notre Dame du Sablon, 77-81, 336 * 79 Nottingham, Earl of, 148-151 Nouzou, 21 Nuremberg, 33, 226, 237 Nys, Daniel, 259 Odyssey, 124, 295 Oktanton, 76 Old Testament, 156, 176, 290 * 101 Opera Fragments, 179 Oriental kelims, 245 Oriental rugs, 26, 36, 242-244 Oriental Scenes * 147 Orleans, Henri d'. See Aumale, Duke d' Orleans, Philip, Duke of. See Regent Orley, Barend Van (Bernard), 84, 96, 172, 292, 308, 340, 354 * 309, 339 Oudenarde, 99, 106, 158, 163, 264 Oudry, Jean Baptiste, 22, 24, 179, 182, 193-195, 197, 205, 318, 348 Ovid. See Metamorphoses, and Arachne Outdoor Games, 193 Owen, Sir Cunliffe, 139 Paintings. See Tapestries and Paintings Pallas, 296 Pannemaker, Pieter Van, 292 Pannemaker, Willem Van, 98, 284, 292, 308, 412 liMiiimiftiMmi^ INDEX 431 Paris, Tapestry Works at, 38, 128, 246. See also the Gobelins * 155- 33i Paris Mark, 160 Parisot, Peter, 151 Parrocel, Charles, 179 Partridge, Bernard, 138 Passion. See Instruments of the Passion, 51 Passion of Christ, 20 Passion of Our Lord, 42, 63, 342 Pastoral Scenes, 213 Patrons, Grands and Petits, 256, 260, 301, 302 Pau, 96 Pavia, Battle of, 96, 308, 354 ♦309 Peasant Tapestries, 230 Pegasus, the Horse, 159 Pembroke, William, First Earl of, 142 Penelope, 295, 296 Penni, Francesco, 304 Pennsylvania Museum of Indus- trial Art, 322 Penthesilea, 51, 300, 302 Permentiers, Jan, 288 Persian rugs, 48 Peruvian Tapestries, 244 Pescara, Don Avalos de, 98 Peter the Great, 173, 228 * 229 Philip, Master, 62 Philip II of Spain, 82, 96, 99, 102, 292 Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, 44, 68, 99, 100, 244, 340, 388 Philip the Handsome, 81, 86, 99, 102, 292 Picardy, 186, 201 Pickering, Sir Gilbert, 114, 260 Piscina Probatica, 358 *2D9 Pius VII, Pope, 92 Planche, Frangois de la, 105, 106, J 57» J 59. IOO > l62 > 166, 223, 328 Planche, Raphael de la, 159 Planken, Frans Van Den. See Planche Plato, 34 Plessis-Mace, Chateau du, 72 Pluto and Proserpine, 22 Poldi Pezzoli Museum * 29 Polidore, Story of, 115 Polovtsoff Sale, 22 Pomona, 136 Pompadour, Madame de, 184 Pope, The, 382 Portieres of the Gods, 174 Portland Family, 76 Portraits in Tapestries, 80, 96, 115, 182, 184, 228, 262, 306 Pottier & Stymus, 216 Poussin, 171 Poyntz, Francus, 115, 116, 146 Poyntz, Thomas, 146 Presburg, 230 Presentation of the Infant Jesus at the Temple, 36, 338 *37 Preux and Preuses, 51, 297, 298, 300 Prices of Tapestries, 18-24, 38, 39, 40, 84, 92, 93, 109, no, III, 112, 113, 115, 149, 170, 176, 182, 188, 191, 193, 195, 198, 204, 340 Prier, Toussaint, 43, 44 Primaticcio, 154 Procaccini, Andrea, 225, 227 Proserpine, 24 Psyche, 96, 159, 195, 318 QUEDLIMBURG RUGS, 36 432 INDEX Queen of Sheba before Solomon, 21 Quicherat, ML, 62 Raes, Jan, 87 Raphael's Acts of the Apostles, 24, 28, 77, 81-94, io 9> 1 18-120, 148-151, 156, 172, 174, 190, 252, 256, 260, 275, 286, 288, 290, 3i6, 350, 358, 360, 412; Titles of, 90; Morgan photo- graphs of, 92, 94 *83, 85, 89,91,93 Rape of Europa, 22 Raphael, 96, 142, 172, 174, 235, 358 Ratisbon Rathaus, 225 Recollet, Pere Luc, 159 Red Sea, Crossing the * 97, 249 Regent, The, of France, 178, 179 Reichsapfel, 279 Reims, Archbishop of, 177, 358 Reims, Cathedral of, 60, 63, 64, 201, 358 *299 Reims, Church of Saint Remi at, 63, 64, 262 *6 5 Reims, Toiles Peintes of, 256, 356 Renaissance tapestries, 28, 77-98, 264, 275, 280, 311, 314-316, 368, 374, 407, 409, 412, 413 Rennes, 298 Repairing tapestries, 321 *3I9 Restoration of 1660, The, 1 14 Rest out, Jean, 179 Revelation, Gospel of. See Apoca- lypse and Angers Apocalypse Rcydams, H., 288 Reymbouts, Martin, 290 Ribs of tapestries, 28, 56, 132, 138, 199 colour plate no. IV, 232, 233, 239, 378, 386, 394, 404 Rhinelander, Frederick W., 272, 407, 408 Riviera, Jacopo della, 223 Rivieres, 118, 125, 126 Robb Sale, 52 Rocci, Gasparo, 224 Roche Aymon, Cardinal de la, 177 Roche-Guyon, Chateau de la, 125 Rococo tapestries, 368 Roland, 20, 60, 159 *6i Rolin, Jean; Rolin, Nicolas, 68, 70 Roman de la Rose, 136 Romanelli, Jean Francois, 223, 224, 306 Rome, 21, 92, 218, 222, 225, 360, 406 Rome, Ancient, 295-297 Romulus and Remus, 94, 306, 402 Ronceray, Abbey of, 70 Roosevelt, Miss Alice, 31 Roost, John, 218, 220 Rosebecke, Battle of, 45 Roumania, 230 Royal Exchange, Queen Elizabeth Opening, 139 Royal Residences of Louis XIV, 166, 177,205,310 *i6 7 Royal Residences, Views of the English, 139 Rubens, Peter Paul, 119, 159, 236, 306 Russian Games, 196 Russian Imperial Carriage Museum, 173,228 Russian Looms, 228, 366, 374 * 229 Rutland, Countess of, 114, 118, 125, 145 Rymer's Foedera, 109 Sabine Women, 407, 408 *4°5 ttmmttiww mm i mm t mi mma u rm MHHiitttfi lUisutiHUttWiHiBmirauHunujr INDEX 433 Sablon. See Notre Dame du Sablon Sagan Collection, De, 24 Sages, The, 24. See Angers Apo- calypse, 41 Saints, Lives of, 279, 294 Saint Anatoile, 267 Saint Antoine, 42 Saint Catherine, 42 Saint-Cloud, Gallery of, 172, 173 Saint Crispin, 156 Saint Crispinian, 156 Saint Denis, 42 Saint Eleuthere, 43-45, 267 Saint Etienne, 63, 66 Saint George, 42 (three times), 220 Saint Gereon fragments, 33, 225, 237, 356 *35 Saint Germain, Faubourg, 159 Saint Gervais, 64, 72 *75 Saint Hugh, 68 Saint John, 41, 292 St. John the Divine, Cathedral of, 223 Saint Joseph, 362 Saint Louis of Toulouse, 51 Saint Luke painting the Virgin and Child, 62, 268 *257 Saint Marcel, Faubourg, 210 Saint Margaret, 42 Saint Mark, 220 Saint Nicaise, 201 Saint Paul, The Story of, 113 *393 Saint Peter, 218 *363 St. Petersburg, 128, 173, 228, 374 Saint Piat, 43-45, 267 Saint Pol. See Louis of Luxembourg Saint Protais, 64, 72 *75 Saint Quentin, 63, 66, 67 Saint Remi, 63, 64, 201, 262 *65 Saint Theseus, 42 Sales and sale catalogues, 340, 342, 344. 346 Salins, 267, 336 Sand, George, 50 Samson, 156 Sandwich, 142 Sandwich, Earl of, 116 San Michele, Hospital, 225, 227 Santa Barbara Tapestry Works, 227 362 Saracen, 42, 58, 198, 241 - 244, 297 Saragossa, Cathedral of, 63, 300 Saunders, Paul, 152 Scherrebeck, 230 Schickler Collection, 52, 262 Schiller, 138 Schdngauer, Marten, 414 Sciences and Arts, 196 Scipio, Story of, 94, 154, 172, 173, 218, 302, 304, 306, 360 *95 Scotland, 267 Screen * 187 Seaports, 192 Seasons, The, 22, 136, 139, 144, 145, 159, 166, 174, 184 *3»3 Segers, William, 402 Seneca, 34 Senecterre, Jacques de, 67 Serlio, Sebastien, 154 Servia, 230 Seve, M. De, 170 Seven Deadly Sins, Tapestries of the, 294 Seven Sacraments, 30 Seville, 362 434 INDEX Shaw, Byam, 136 * 137 Sheba, Queen of, 67, 226 * 29 Sheldon, Ralph, 144 Sheldon, William, 142, 143 Shepherds and Shepherdesses, 51, 54 *55 Sibyl, The Tiburtine, 384 Siena, 217 Signatures. See Marks and Signa- tures Simonet, Jean, 225 Simpson, Mrs. John W., 223 Sistine Chapel, 82, 92 Sizes of tapestries, 17-24, 34, 38, 44, 45, 48, 56, 64, 67, 70, 72, 77, 119, 125, 170, 177, 184, 224, 275, 276, 279, 308, 396 Sleath, 136 Slot, Gerard, 218 Socrates, 34, 196 Soho, 152 Soissons, Capture of, 60 Soissons, Cathedral of, 72 Solebay, Battle of, 1 16 Solomon, 67, 136, 226, 398 * 29 Somzee Sale, 20 Souef, 192 Sonet, Jean, 163 South Kensington Museum. See Victoria and Albert Southwold. See Solebay Spain, 362, 366 Spain, King of, 160, 177, 228 Spanish Collection, Royal, 63, 82, 88, 94-96, 159, 190, 227, 275, 284, 286, 308, 332, 412 * 95, 307, 372, 373, 377, 381, 3«7, 393, 405 Spanish Looms, 227 Speculum Humanae Salvationis, 67 Spicre, Pierre, 70 Stage Scenes, 179 Stanmore Hall, 136 Stockholm, 230 Stoetkens, Beatrix, 78 Stokes, Mrs. Adrian, 138 Strecken, 406 Straaten, Jan Van, 222 Stuyvesant, Peter, 216 Sujets de la Fable, 172 Sumner, Heywood, 138 Superbia, 142 Susannah and the Elders, 20 *325 Sweden, 230, 318 Swedish Collection, Royal, 120, 148, 190, 195, 228, 332, 334 * 121,335 Swiss, 60 Tapestries and Paintings, 26, 276, 311-316 Tapissiers sarrazinois, 241-244 Tarragona, Cathedral of, 366 Tasso's Jesusalem Delivered, 21, 225, 406 *277 Tatler, 146 Taxis, Francis de, 78, 81, 262 Taxis, Jean-Baptiste de, 81 Telemachus, 190, 296 *343 Temple of Venus, 22 Teniers, 22, 236 *337, 36i Terlon, 122 Tessier, 182, 184 Testelin, M., 170 Texture of Tapestries, 26, 81, 82, 86, 132, 138, 232-254, 376, 378, 394 Theagenet and Charides, 159 t;MmwHi?«Mm»iwH»HnB 348 Kristeller's Mantegna, 258 Laking Windsor, 352, 354 L'Art, 126 Law Hampton Court, 350 Le Roy Collection, 346, 348 Lessing Wandteppiche, 362, 364 Louis XIV Inventory, 118, 156, 166, 188, 348 Mackail's William Morris, 130 Macomber Bibilography, 324 Manuscripts in Bibliotheque Na- tionale, 243, 297 Mazarin Inventory, 348 Migeon, 326 Muentz, 90, 326, 328, 330 Muentz Generale, 324 Muentz Vatican, 119 Munich Guide, 350, 352 Munich Neubau, 350, 352 Naples Museum, 352, 354 Newton Mortlake, 328 Paris 1900, 338 Pinchart Generale, 244 Raphael Vatican, 358, 360 Reims Peintes, 256, 346, 358, 414 Reims Tapisseries, 358 Reinach's Repertoire de Peintures, 402 Robb Sale 1912 Rossi Arazzo, 225, 360 San Donato Sale 1880, 344 Savary's Dictionnaire du Com- merce, 201 Schumann Trojan, 301, 364, 365 Siret's Dictionnaire, 126 Sommerard Cluny, 350, 352 Somzee Sale 1901, 223, 340, 342 South Kensington Bibliography, 324 Spiliotti Russian, 228, 366 Spitzer Sale 1903, 340, 342 Spitzer Collection 1890, "jj, 346, 348 Suzanne Sale 1910, 344 Thomson, 56, 108, 113, 115, 326, 348, 4H Valencia Spanish, 290, 304, 332, 384 Voltaire, 127 White Sale 1907, 406 Williams Spain, 362 Yerkes Sale 1910, 346 aaim&uiiiaMiiiiz^ iattuuuiiiiuuuiii Kninftiim ttwawfiwiKmwflttij TWO HOI1 RESF 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN LIBRARY This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. 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