Tapestry in the Baroque: Threads of Splendor

Campbell, Thomas P., ed., with essays by Pascal-François Bertrand, Charissa Bremer-David, Koenraad Brosens, Thomas P. Campbell, Guy Delmarcel, Isabelle Denis, James G. Harper, Wendy Hefford, and Lucia Meoni (2007)

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Description

Tapestry in the Baroque: Threads of Splendor accompanies an exhibition that is the first comprehensive survey of seventeenth-century European tapestry. Conceived as a sequel to Tapestry in the Renaissance: Art and Magnificence (2002), this catalogue is also the first history of Baroque tapestry available in English.

From the Middle Ages until the late eighteenth century, the courts of Europe lavished vast expenditure on tapestries made in precious materials after designs by the leading artists of the day. Yet, the art history establishment continues to misrepresent this medium as a decorative art of lesser importance. Tapestry in the Baroque challenges this notion, demonstrating that tapestry remained among the most prestigious figurative media throughout the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, prized by the rich for its artistry and as a tool of propaganda.

The secondary theme of the study is the stylistic development of tapestry between 1590 and 1720 and the contributions of Flemish, French, and Italian artists as they responded to the challenges and opportunities of the medium in unique and spectacular ways. Divided into chronological sections, the presentation examines the diaspora of Flemish weavers in the 1590s; the foundation of the Paris industry in the early 1600s; the innovative work of Peter Paul Rubens and his circle for the Brussels workshops between 1615 and 1660; the achievements of the Mortlake works for Charles I in the 1620s and 1630s; the parallel development of the Medici and Barberini manufactories in Florence and Rome; the creation of the Gobelins manufactory in Paris for Louis XIV; the development of the Beauvais workshop; and the renewed vigor of the Brussels industry in the 1690s and early 1700s.

Drawing from collections in more than fifteen countries, Tapestry in the Baroque presents forty-five rare tapestries made between 1590 and 1720. About half of these derive from Flemish workshops, including such highlights of the Brussels tapestry industry as the Triumphs of the Church designed by Rubens for the Archduchess Isabella in 1626 and tapestries from the Austrian state collection designed by Jacob Jordaens and others in the 1630s and 1640s. Flemish weavers also played key roles elsewhere in Europe, establishing new enterprises and training native weavers, and the publication also features rare examples from these new workshops, including a stupendous throne canopy made for the King of Denmark in 1584, tapestries made at Mortlake for King Charles I of England in the 1620s, and tapestries from Delft, Munich, Florence, Rome, and Paris. Some of the most ambitious tapestries of the day were woven for King Louis XIV at the Gobelins manufactory, established in Paris in 1662, and the catalogue includes representative pieces from some of the especially celebrated design series. Approximately twenty-five designs and oil sketches by masters such as Rubens, Jordaens, Simon Vouet, Charles Le Brun, Pietro da Cortona, and Giovanni Francesco Romanelli further illustrate stylistic developments in tapestry design during this period.

Table of contents

Sponsors' Forewords
Director's Foreword
Preface and Acknowledgments
Lenders to the Exhibition

Introduction: The Golden Age of Netherlandish Tapestry Weaving
Thomas P. Campbell

The Disruption and Diaspora of the Netherlandish Tapestry Industry, 1570–1600
Thomas P. Campbell
Catalogue Numbers 1–6

The Development of New Centers of Production and the Recovery of the Netherlandish Tapestry Industry, 1600–1620
Thomas P. Campbell
Catalogue Numbers 7–11

Stately Splendor, Woven Frescoes, Luxury Furnishings: Tapestry in Context, 1600–1660
Thomas P. Campbell

The Parisian Workshops, 1590–1650
Isabelle Denis
Catalogue Numbers 12–15

The Mortlake Manufactory, 1619–49
Wendy Hefford
Catalogue Numbers 16–18

Tapestry in the Spanish Netherlands, 1625–60
Guy Delmarcel
Catalogue Numbers 19–30

Tapestry Production in Florence: The Medici Tapestry Works, 1587–1747
Lucia Meoni
Catalogue Numbers 31–34

Tapestry Production in Seventeenth-Century Rome: The Barberini Manufactory
James G. Harper
Catalogue Numbers 35–38

Collectors and Connoisseurs: The Status and Perception of Tapestry, 1600–1660
Thomas P. Campbell

Tapestry Production at the Gobelins during the Reign of Louis XIV, 1661–1715
Pascal-François Bertrand
Catalogue Numbers 39–49

Manufacture Royale de Tapisseries de Beauvais, 1664–1715
Charissa Bremer-David
Catalogue Numbers 50–52

Flemish Production, 1660–1715
Koenraad Brosens
Catalogue Numbers 53–58

Continuity and Change in Tapestry Use and Design,1680–1720
Thomas P. Campbell

Bibliography
Index
Photograph Credits

About the authors

Thomas P. Campbell is Curator, Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, and Supervising Curator, Antonio Ratti Textile Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Press reviews

Fiberarts Magazine

"... a catalog that, once perused, just might inspire a trip to Spain ... this book underscores the importance of the art form in the seventeenth century, with grand spectacles and jaw-dropping details."

Choice Reviews Online

"... sumptuous ... An important topic is here masterfully reconstituted. Essential."

The Spectator

"... stunning ..."

The New York Review of Books

"... raises fascinating questions about what tapestries meant in their own time ..."

The Art Newspaper

"This is a beautifully produced glossy volume ... particularly valuable source of information and an inspirational tool which is more than fit to take its place on any serious tapestry researcher's (or indeed, social, cultural, or art historian's) bookshelf."

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Exhibition

Tapestry in the Baroque: Threads of Splendor

From the Middle Ages until the late eighteenth century, the courts of Europe lavished vast resources on tapestries made of precious materials after designs by leading artists. This international loan exhibition, conceived as a sequel to Tapestry in the Renaissance: Art and Magnificence (spring 2002), is the first comprehensive survey of high-quality tapestry production in the Baroque era. Drawing from twenty-five collections around the world, it presents forty-five rare tapestries woven in a variety of centers, demonstrating the stylistic development of the medium between 1570 and 1720. Almost all of the tapestries presented derive from larger sets made for the kings, popes, and leading members of the European nobility. This assemblage provides a unique glimpse of the contribution that the medium of tapestry made to the art and propaganda of the principal courts of the day.

Despite the growing interest in Old Master and contemporary painters, tapestry continued to fascinate grand patrons throughout seventeenth-century Europe. Some of the most artistically enlightened rulers, such as the Medici dukes of Florence, poured fresh resources into existing workshops during this period; others sought to establish new ones. Grandest of all was the Manufacture Royale des Tapisseries de la Couronne established in 1662 for Louis XIV of France, one of the most ambitious exercises in art patronage ever undertaken by a European ruler. For those who could not afford such extravagance, the workshops of Paris, Brussels, and many other centers provided alternative sources, and competition was fierce for both Old Master designs and the best new weavings. Many of the greatest artists of the day were engaged in supplying tapestry designs. Indeed, in the context of these artists' careers and works, the large tapestry designs they provided were often among their most important creations.