Part 6

For grace and charm, without any loss of strength, this surpasses most French work of the period. It is an unusually typical illustration of the French Renaissance which took the technique of the Italian revival of the antique and refashioned it to her own spirit, giving the classic goddesses, even in their dignity, youthful and feminine appeal, and refining the Italian opulence. The floreation in the foreground is as delicate as in a XVIth-century millefleurs, and the colors are unusually luminous.

[Sidenote: Lent by _Wildenstein & Company_.]

Francesco Primaticcio (1504-1570) studied under a disciple of Raphael and worked with Giulio Romano on the decorations of the Palace de Te, Mantua. In 1532 he went from Italy to Fontainebleau to work on the decorations there. In 1540 he returned to Italy to collect works of art for the king. He returned to France and continued to create decorations at Fontainebleau with a large staff of Italian painters as his collaborators. Under Francis II he became Superintendent of the Building.

[Sidenote: 38]

PARIS, EARLY XVII CENTURY

[Sidenote:

_Wool._ H. 13 _ft._ W. 16 _ft._ 9 _in._ ]

THE NIOBIDES: _Apollo and Artemis from a cloud shoot down the children of Niobe, thus avenging their mother, who had been outraged by Niobe's boasting that she had the more children. Border of fruit garlands and figures in camaieux._

[Sidenote: Formerly in Marnier-Lapostalle Collection, Paris.]

[Sidenote: Reproduced:

_Guiffrey, Les Gobelins et Beauvais_, p. 15; _Hauser y Menet, Los Tapices de la Corona de España_, vol. 2, pl. 132.]

The tapestry is one of the Artemis series designed for Marie de Medici by Toussaint du Breuil. It was woven on the looms which were under the direction of Marc Comans and François de la Planche, and which later became the Gobelins state manufactory. The cartoons were repeated many times with different borders. Judging by the border, this piece was woven about 1611.

The piece is a splendid example of the dramatic and monumental character of the productions of the pre-Gobelins looms.

The sensitive feeling for decorative fitness and the reserve that are evident in French designs from the Gothic period on differentiate such a cartoon as this from the contemporary Flemish productions, usually so violent and exaggerated in scale, in drawing, and in emotional expression. For, though dramatic, the scene is restrained and the figures have an almost sculptural detachment. This quality is sustained by the fine architectural border, which is very typical of the Paris looms of this period.

[Sidenote: Lent by _Jacques Seligmann & Company_.]

Toussaint du Breuil (1561-1602) painted decorations in the Pavilions des Poêles at Fontainebleau, and also in the Galerie des Rois in the Louvre. Most of his work has perished.

[Sidenote: 39, 40]

GOBELINS, XVI CENTURY

[Sidenote:

_Wool and Silk._

No. 39: H. 7 _ft._ 9 _in._ W. 13 _ft._ 6 _in._

No. 40: H. 7 _ft._ 9 _in._ W. 11 _ft._ ]

TWO SCENES FROM THE HISTORY OF CLEOPATRA: _In the first_ (_No._ 39) _Cleopatra attended by two maidens greets a young prince who is being introduced to her by a general_. _In the harbor the young stranger's ship is seen._

_In the second_ (_No._ 40) _Cleopatra welcomes a young man_. _An attendant holds a heavy canopy of silk. Beyond, a Greek temple is seen._

_Side borders, only, of classic decorations on a red ground with inset medallions showing the Judgment of Paris._

[Sidenote: Formerly in the Collection of Lord Lovelace.]

The pieces both signed in the lower right corner--Lefébvre, with the fleur-de-lis and G. They do not, however, appear on the records of the Gobelins, so they must have been done by Lefébvre outside of the official work.

[Sidenote: Lent by _William Baumgarten & Company_.]

They are strong and fresh examples of the early work of the Gobelins weavers, and typical of the classicism of the late Renaissance in France. The requirements of mural decoration are met by the monumental character and sculptural poise of the figures, but at the same time the design is adapted to a decorative textile through the perfection of the detail and the richness of the colors.

[Sidenote: 41]

FLANDERS, BEGINNING OF XVII CENTURY

[Sidenote:

_Wool and Silk._ H. 7 _ft._ 10 _in._ W. 13 _ft._ 4 _in._ ]

VERDURE: _A formal garden with fountains and a château in the distance and various birds in the foreground._

[Sidenote: Lent by _Mrs. C. Templeton Crocker_.]

Such landscape tapestries were a characteristic late Renaissance interpretation of the verdure type, a transition between the Gothic _millefleurs_, that were really originally landscapes without perspective (cf. No. 11), and the XVIIth-century verdures (cf. No. 43). It is a very successful form of verdure, for they are broadly effective from a distance and yet have a sufficient wealth of detail to yield interest on closer exploration. The birds in this piece are especially carefully observed and well drawn, and the purity and vivacity of the color is exceptional for this type.

[Sidenote: 42]

BRUSSELS, LATE XVII CENTURY

[Sidenote:

_Wool and Silk._ H. 13 _ft._ W. 12 _ft._ ]

AMERICA: _In a tropical landscape an Indian with bow and arrows caressing a crocodile. Two children beside him smoking pipes. In the background on a hill a mission; in the foreground a heap of fruits and flowers and precious objects symbolic of the wealth of the New World. Border of fruits and flowers with corner medallions representing North, East, South, and West. On the lower selvage the Brussels city mark and the signature, I. V. D. BEURCHT._

[Sidenote: Another example in Musée Impériale des Ecuries, Petrograd, No. 117.]

The piece is one of a set of four representing the four quarters of the globe. It was woven by Jean Van der Beurcht, one of the great weavers of Brussels, who is known to have been working there between 1690 and 1710. The Van der Beurcht family had for several generations been painters, Jean being the first to turn from that profession to tapestry weaving. He was followed by several other members of the family (cf. No. 56), all of whom did work of the highest quality.

[Sidenote: Lent by _P. W. French & Company_.]

The piece is a splendid illustration of the romantic attitude toward America at the time and a reminder of the importance America had to Europeans as a source of wealth. The mission on the hill, and another mission settlement in the valley of which a glimpse can be caught, are of especial interest.

[Sidenote: 43]

FLANDERS, XVII CENTURY

[Sidenote:

_Wool and Silk._ H. 11 _ft._ 10 _in._ W. 11 _ft._ ]

VERDURE WITH BEAR HUNT: _In a forest of large trees hunters shooting and spearing bears. In place of a border, large columns at the sides with floral garlands hung between them across the top._

The piece is a type of verdure, numbers of which with many variations were produced in Flanders during the XVIIth century. It is one of a set of five, and is a very strong, fresh example.

[Sidenote: Lent by _P. W. French & Company_.]

The substitution of massive columns for formal borders is characteristic of the Baroque period and serves the better to adapt the tapestry to the prevailing architecture.

[Sidenote: 44]

BRUSSELS, XVII CENTURY

[Sidenote:

_Wool and Silk._ H. 11 _ft._ W. 18 _ft._ 8 _in._ ]

[Sidenote: From the Morgan Collection, No. 17. Another example in the Swedish Royal Collection.]

TRIUMPH OF AUGUSTUS AND LIVIA: _Caesar offers the crown of victory to Augustus, who kneels before him. He is surrounded by his attendants and his chariot waits in the background. The side borders are of flower-draped columns, top and bottom borders of fruit and flower garlands, with ornaments. On the side borders are cartouches bearing the insignia: Pax. Aug. and Vic. Aug. (Pax Augusta and Victoria Augusta)._

[Sidenote: Illustrated:

_Böttiger, Svenska Statins Samling_, vol. 3, pl. XLII.]

The piece is one of a series on the _History of Julius Caesar_, three of which were in the Morgan Collection. It has all the abundance and dramatic emphasis characteristic of the Baroque period.

[Sidenote: Lent by _P. W. French & Company_.]

The massive yet active figures, the large folded, swinging drapes, the luxurious and heavy accessories are all typical of the work of a time when the large, the impressive, and the elaborate were sought in all forms of art. The manner was introduced into tapestry cartoons by Rubens and carried on by many of his pupils and imitators. Even the outline of the composition of this piece follows closely that of Rubens' famous _Triumphs_, from which the suggestion for the cartoon was undoubtedly taken.

[Sidenote: 45]

FLANDERS, XVII CENTURY

[Sidenote:

_Wool, Silk, Gold._ H. 3 _ft._ 1 _in._ W. 4 _ft._ ]

THE VIRGIN AND CHILD: _The Virgin in a pale red gown with a dark-blue cloak falling about her is seated on the ground. The child holding a staff in the form of a cross sits on her knee. Beyond is a castle, and against the sky a high mountain. Wide floral border. The high lights are in gold._

This is a most exceptional piece of tapestry, evidently made to special order, probably for a private chapel, after an Italian Renaissance painting. The excessive fineness of the weave and the unstinted use of gold to render the high lights indicate that it was made for a person of wealth and importance.

[Sidenote: Lent by _Duveen Brothers_.]

The painting is faithfully and delicately reproduced and the border is remarkably rich and glowing.

[Sidenote: 46]

BRUSSELS, LATE XVII, EARLY XVIII CENTURY

[Sidenote:

_Wool and Silk._ H. 12 _ft._ W. 17 _ft._ 6 _in._ ]

SANCHO IS TOSSED IN A BLANKET: _Sancho, following Don Quixote's example, has refused to pay the innkeeper, as that is against the tradition of knights-errant and their squires. So the clothmakers of Segovia and the needlemakers of Cordova who chance to be there toss him in a blanket, while Don Quixote sits without on his horse cursing lustily._

The piece is one of a set of illustrations of _Don Quixote_ after David Teniers the Younger. The scene has all the casual and convincing informality and boisterous good spirits for which Teniers' paintings are famous. It quite catches the spirit of the romance which it illustrates. The landscape vista is unusually lovely in color.

[Sidenote: Lent by _P. W. French & Company_.]

David Teniers the Younger (1610-1694) was trained principally under his father, David the Elder, also famous for paintings of peasant episodes. In 1633 he became Master of the Guild of St. Lukes, and thereafter was Dean of the Guild and painter to the governor, Archduke Leopold William, a position which he continued to hold under the next governor, Don Juan of Austria. In 1663 he helped form the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts. He painted innumerable pictures of peasant scenes, many of which have been rendered in tapestry.

[Sidenote: 47, 48]

BRUSSELS, XVIII CENTURY

[Sidenote:

_Wool and Silk._

No. 47: H. 11 _ft._ W. 8 _ft._ 9 _in._

No. 48: H. 11 _ft._ W. 8 _ft._ 9 _in._ ]

TWO PEASANT SCENES: _In the first_ (_No._ 47) _a group of peasants has stopped to rest and talk beside a stream that comes tumbling down in broken cascades beneath a high stone bridge. On the hills in the background are farmhouses and the ruins of castles_.

_In the second_ (_No._ 48) _a group of peasants sits and stands about under a tree in a meadow_, _in which cattle and goats wander._ _In the background is a farmhouse._

[Sidenote: Lent by _Duveen Brothers_.]

These tapestries after Teniers are typical of his illustrations of life among the peasants and of his decorative and romantic yet realistic landscapes. They are in weaving and color of the best quality of examples of this type.

[Sidenote: 49]

MORTLAKE, LATE XVII CENTURY

[Sidenote:

_Wool and Silk._ H. 10 _ft._ 4 _in._ W. 7 _ft._ 6 _in._ ]

PEASANTS IN A LANDSCAPE: _A group of peasants has stopped by the wayside in a mountainous landscape. Above is a shield bearing the inscription "Iocatur in Parvis sorts ut cum Magna Mercede Fallat."_

[Sidenote: Formerly in the Collection of Sir John Ramsay.]

The cartoon is after Teniers. The Mortlake renditions of these cartoons, which were borrowed from Flanders, have a clarity and sharpness that give them marked distinction. The towering mountain landscape is really impressive.

[Sidenote: Lent by _Frank Partridge, Inc._]

The rendition of the water is unusually realistic without any loss of decorative interest. The translation of water into a woven design is one of the most difficult problems of the craft. It has been given many solutions, of which this is the most naturalistic.

[Sidenote: 50]

BEAUVAIS, LATE XVII CENTURY

[Sidenote:

_Wool and Silk._ H. 10 _ft._ W. 8 _ft._ 8 _in._ ]

HERMES AND THE SHEPHERD: _Hermes has taken the Shepherd's pipe, leaving the caduceus on the ground, and is attempting to play. They are in a wood with large flowers in the foreground. In the background there is a glimpse of a hilly landscape and a formal garden with fountains. Wide floral border._

[Sidenote: Lent by _Mrs. James Creelman_.]

The piece is one of a set of five verdures, most of which have hunting scenes. While there is no signature, and there are no records on them, the character of the foliage and of the floreation makes it almost certain that these are of Beauvais manufacture. While in some details they resemble contemporary Aubusson tapestries, the quality of the color is rather different.

They are a particularly deep and quiet type of verdure, an excellent background for fine furnishings. The quality of the greens is uncommonly fine.

[Sidenote: 51]

BEAUVAIS, BEGINNING OF XVIII CENTURY

[Sidenote:

_Wool and Silk._ H. 10 _ft._ 9 _in._ W. 13 _ft._ 3 _in._ ]

VERDURE WITH DANCING NYMPHS: _In a wooded dell are four nymphs dancing. Beyond is a glimpse of an open pasture with cows._

[Sidenote: Lent by _Dikran K. Kelekian_.]

The strong and brilliant trees throw into sharp contrast the delicate perfection of the bit of landscape beyond. The nymphs are probably after Noël Coypel. The use of the red to relieve the general tone of green is especially successful.

[Sidenote: 52]

BEAUVAIS, 1685-1711

[Sidenote:

_Wool, Silk, Gold._ H. 15 _ft._ 8 _in._ W. 11 _ft._ 10 _in._ ]

THE CONQUEST OF LOUIS THE GREAT: _Louis XIV on horseback with two attendants points with his cane to the siege of a city whose defenses are surrounded by water. In the upper border appear the arms of Count Bruhl of Saxony. The piece is one of a set of seven._

[Sidenote: Formerly in the Lord Amherst Collection.]

[Sidenote: Illustrated: _Badin, La Manufacture de la Tapisserie de Beauvais_, opp. p. 4.]

This is a very rare example from one of the earliest sets woven at Beauvais when the factory was under the direction of Behagle. The cartoon was designed either by Van der Meulen or his greatest pupil, Jean-Baptiste Martin, later called Martin of the Battles, because of a famous series of cartoons which he made for the Beauvais works illustrating the victories of Sweden over Denmark.

The richness of the king's group stands out brilliantly against the clear, cool color and sharp geometrical lines of the background. The city with its canals and buildings is exquisitely rendered, an interesting anticipation of an aeroplane view.

[Sidenote: Lent by _P. W. French & Company_.]

Adam Frans Van der Meulen (1632-1690) was a native of Brussels and studied there under Peter Snayers, but on recommendation of Le Brun was invited by Colbert to Paris, where he was pensioned by the king and given apartments in the Gobelins. In 1673 be was received into the Academy. He collaborated with Le Brun in making designs for the Gobelins, notably for the series of _The History of the King_.

[Sidenote: 53-56]

BRUSSELS, BEGINNING XVIII CENTURY

[Sidenote:

_Wool._

No. 53: H. 10 _ft._ 7 _in._ W. 29 _ft._

No. 54: H. 10 _ft._ 4 _in._ W. 9 _ft._ 4 _in._

No. 55: H. 10 _ft._ 3½ _in._ W. 7 _ft._ 2 _in._

No. 56: H. 10 _ft._ 4½ _in._ W. 7 _ft._ 3 _in._ ]

THE OPERATIONS OF THE SIEGE OF LILLE: _Number_ 53 _represents the battle of Wynendael Wood._ _Lord Cobham on horseback with his sword drawn is in the midst of his troops._

_Number_ 54 _shows the burning of Lille_. _The burning city is seen in the background. Soldiers in the foreground are getting bundles of wood to feed the flames._

_Number_ 55 _shows cavaliers foraging_. _Soldiers are carrying bundles of hay for their horses and a lamb lies on the ground ready to be carried off._

_Number_ 56 _shows the poisoning of a spy_. _The cavaliers have just given a glass of poisoned wine to a young woman who is about to drink._

_The borders simulate wooden frames and carry the arms of Lord Cobham._

[Sidenote: Formerly in Stowe House.]

The set was designed by Van der Meulen for Lord Cobham, who served under the Duke of Marlborough and had a brilliant military career. It was woven at the Royal Manufactory of Brussels under the direction of Leyniers, whose signature appears in the border of three pieces. In the fourth piece is the signature ACASTRO, Latin for Van der Beurcht.

Cobham inherited Stowe House in 1697, and these tapestries until recently hung in the dining-room there.

[Sidenote: Lent by _Jacques Seligmann & Company_.]

The set ranks with the strongest and most effective pieces of the period, rich both in illustrative action and in decoration. The weave is technically perfect.

[Sidenote: 57]

GOBELINS, MIDDLE XVIII CENTURY (1747-1751)

[Sidenote:

_Wool and Silk._ H. 11 _ft._ 6 _in._ W. 8 _ft._ 3 _in._ ]

JULY FROM THE "MONTHS" OF LUCAS: _From a series of designs of the Months, used in Brussels since the XVth century and attributed without verification to Lucas Van Leyden. The scene represents a falconing party._

The piece has the last type of border used for the set, the so-called Dresden border, representing a carved and gilded wood frame with corner ornaments surrounded by naturalistic flowers, and with a sign of the Zodiac (Leo) in a cartouche at the top.

[Sidenote: Lent by _P. W. French & Company_.]

The piece was probably woven in the tenth weaving between 1741 and 1751 on the upright looms in the atelier of Cozette.[29]

This is an unusually clear and brilliant example of a famous Gobelins set.

[Sidenote: 58]

GOBELINS, XVII CENTURY

[Sidenote:

_Wool and Silk._ H. 9 _ft._ 4 _in._ W. 6 _ft._ 8 _in._ ]

DECEMBER FROM THE "MONTHS" OF LUCAS: _A nobleman greets a peasant woman and her child, while a man and woman carrying a baby wait for him. In the background a castle and people skating on the ice. The piece is incomplete._

[Sidenote: Another example in the Vienna Collection, No. 109.]

This tapestry is from the same set as the preceding, but woven almost a century earlier, and it is interesting to contrast the changes that the change in taste has made in the feeling of the rendition and the color key. During the XVIIIth century the cartoon was refined with slight changes. The hand of the old man, for example, was modified to hold a fruit for the child. The piece probably is from the third or fourth weaving. If so, it was done on the horizontal looms in the atelier of Lefébvre, outside of the official work of the Gobelins.[30]

[Sidenote: Lent by _Wildenstein & Company_.]

This is one of the few really successful renditions of a snow scene in tapestry.

[Sidenote: 59]

BEAUVAIS, LATE XVII, EARLY XVIII CENTURY (1684-1711)

[Sidenote:

_Wool and Silk._ H. 9 _ft._ 8 _in._ W. 16 _ft._ 5 _in._ ]

CHINESE GROTESQUE: _Under an arbor clowns conduct a circus. Above the arbor are scrolls, garlands, birds, musical instruments, and other decorations. On a yellow ground._

This is one of a famous series of grotesques by Berain on a yellow ground, woven several times at the Beauvais works when they were under the direction of Behagle.[31]

The entertaining fantasy of the conception, together with the delicate drawing and the beautiful ground color, makes this one of the finest grotesques of the XVIIIth century.

[Sidenote: Lent by _P. W. French & Company_.]

Jean Berain (1638-1711) was appointed in 1674 designer to the king, and in this position designed the scenery and costumes for the court ballets. He is famous for his decorations.

[Sidenote: 60, 61]

BEAUVAIS, XVIII CENTURY

[Sidenote:

_Wool and Silk._

No. 60: H. 15½ _in._ W. 19 _in._

No. 61: H. 15½ _in._ W. 19 _in._ ]

TWO STILL-LIFE PIECES: _In one_ (_No._ 60) _a glass_, _a napkin_, _and some vegetables on a table_. _In the other_ (_No._ 61) _various vegetables about a china dish_.

These panels, after paintings by Chardin, are the only recorded examples of still-life composition in tapestry. From the middle of the XVth century household utensils and various other types of accessories were used to contribute richness of ornamentation to scenes, and during the Baroque period embossed metals and lavish carvings became especially important in creating a luxurious effect, but not until tapestry was thought of as a form of painting was a purely still-life subject attempted. All still-life designs depend so much on contrasted weights, and especially on textures, that they are particularly difficult to translate into a medium which, like tapestry, renders primarily silhouettes and which has such a decided texture of its own. But the extraordinary skill of the XVIIIth-century French weavers was equal even to that problem. The skillful care of the composition of the original paintings and the pure beauty of the colors of the tapestry make of rather unpromising subjects beautiful decorations.

[Sidenote: Lent by _Maison Jamarin, Paris_.]

Jean Siméon Chardin (1699-1779) studied under Noël Coypel and assisted Jean Baptiste Van Loo in restoring one of the galleries of Fontainebleau. He was admitted to the Academy in 1728. His early work was devoted to still-life subjects principally, his later to peasant scenes, in which there are often fine incidental still lifes.

[Sidenote: 62]

AUBUSSON, MIDDLE XVIII CENTURY

[Sidenote:

_Wool and Silk._ H. 9 _ft._ 8 _in._ W. 10 _ft._ 9 _in._ ]

THE PRIEST AND CARDENIO MEET DOROTHY: _The priest and the barber while looking for Don Quixote come across Cardenio. While Cardenio is telling them the sad story of how his love, Lucinda, has been stolen from him by the treachery of Don Fernando they hear someone lamenting. Following the sound of the voice, they find Dorothy disguised as a shepherd-boy bathing her feet in a stream. She is on her way to seek Don Fernando, who is her pledged husband and who has deserted her for Lucinda. In the background Don Quixote, exhausted and starved from his wanderings, lies on the ground, while the faithful Sancho pleads with him to return to Toboso._

_The border simulates a carved frame. On the lower selvage is the signature M. R. DAUBUSSON. MAGE. PICON._

The piece is one of a series of illustrations by Coypel, originally designed for the Gobelins, and was engraved and used in many editions of the romance both in France and Spain. Several looms made tapestries after the engravings, including those of Santa Barbara in Madrid.

The signature is the mark of the royal manufacture of Aubusson, and of Mage, a tapestry merchant in Paris in 1746, and Picon, dyer to the king from 1748 to 1756. The piece was evidently made in the royal works of Aubusson to the order of the dealer Mage under the supervision of Picon, who, from his position, was evidently one of the most important members of the staff there.