CATALOGUE (continued 2)

Lent by Mrs. William H. Crocker.

The design is full of the oblique symbolism that the period loved. The allusions are drawn with equal interest from classic tradition, secular history, and Christian legend. The entire past has been laid under tribute with magnificent disregard of historical, social, and religious congruity. Such an unclassified assemblage of exciting personalities might even cause confusion in the Day of Judgment. It is typical of the Renaissance catholicity, the Renaissance eagerness to assimilate all knowledge and be always as impressive as possible. Yet the figures still have some of the stately restraint of the Gothic, and the dispersion of the points of interest, so that the whole textile is equally covered, is a remainder from the Gothic taste. Truly transitional, it represents the final stage of Maître Philippe's development.

77 FLANDERS, ENGHIEN (?), XVI CENTURY

Wool and Silk. H. 5 ft. W. 6 ft. 11 in. Lent by Mrs. William H. Crocker.

VERDURE: Scrolling leaves in rich blue-green with red and yellow flowers and fruits on a very deep-blue ground. A wide border of clusters of flowers and fruits.

This is a notably brilliant example of the characteristic Renaissance verdure. The drawing is both accurate and vivacious, the colors pure, deep, and brilliant, the wool of extraordinary firmness and lustre, while the weave is remarkably close for the type. Tapestries of this class are so often perfunctory in conception and mechanical in execution that we need a piece of this clarity, strength, and perfect finish to show how splendid are the possibilities inherent in the simple design.

78 FLANDERS, LATE XVII CENTURY

Wool and Silk. H. 11 ft. 8 in. W. 15 ft. Lent by Mrs. William H. Crocker.

THE CABRIOLE: A young knight shows his skill in jumping his horse. At the left a page leads in a sumptuously caparisoned horse. At the right a large fountain is seen through the trees, and in the background is a formal garden with fountains.

Such very decorative verdures, half realistic landscapes, were among the finest products of the late XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries. Audenarde looms wove many of the best pieces of the type, and this piece probably came from that district. The fountain is rendered with delightful detail and animation, and the drawing of flowing waters, a trying problem for tapestry, is managed with admirable dexterity.

79 ANTWERP, LATE XVII CENTURY

Wool and Silk. H. 32 in. W. 24 in. Illustrated: Schmitz, Bild-Teppiche, p. 265. Lent by Mrs. William H. Crocker.

SCENES FROM THE CHILDHOOD OF CHRIST: On a black ground strewn with flowers, five oval panels framed with wreaths: the Annunciation; the Nativity; the Adoration of the Magi; the Circumcision; the Flight into Egypt.

This very unusual tapestry was the work of Balthasar Bosmanns, one of the greatest weavers of Antwerp. The realistically drawn yet richly decorative flowers show the influence of the school of flower painters of which Jan Brueghel was the most famous. The landscape in the Adoration and the Flight into Egypt are rendered with exquisite delicacy. The effect of the panels in such light, fresh, almost pastel colors against the black ground is a daring and striking decorative experiment. Another rendering of the same cartoon is in the Kunstgewerbe Museum, Berlin.

FOOTNOTES:

A LIST OF WEAVERS

The following is a list of the most prominent weavers. Such men as Sir Francis Crane, of Mortlake, and Delorme, of Fontainebleau, have not been included because they were only administrators. It is possible that Grenier was not a weaver, though he may have been both weaver and contractor.

Nicolas Bataille Paris XIVth Century

Pasquier Grenier Tournai Middle of XVth Century

Pieter Van Aelst Brussels XVIth Century

Wilhelm Pannemaker Brussels XVIth Century

François Geubels Brussels XVIth Century

Hubert de Mecht Brussels XVIth Century

John Karcher Ferrara XVIth Century

Nicolas Karcher Ferrara XVIth Century

John Rost Florence XVIth Century

Philip de Mecht Mortlake XVIIth Century

Francis Poyntz Mortlake XVIIth Century

Francis Spierinx Delft XVIIth Century

John Vanderbanc England XVIIth Century

Catherine Van der Eynde Brussels XVIIth Century

Jean Raes Brussels XVIIth Century

Everard Leyniers Brussels XVIIth Century

Jacques Van der Beurcht Brussels XVIIth Century

Marc Comans Paris XVIIth Century

François de la Planche Paris XVIIth Century

Jean Lefébvre Paris XVIIth Century

Jean Jans Paris XVIIth Century

Gerard Laurent Paris XVIIth Century

Philippe Behagle Beauvais XVIIIth Century

Cozette Gobelins XVIIIth Century

Le Blond Gobelins XVIIIth Century

De la Tour Gobelins XVIIIth Century

James Neilson Gobelins XVIIIth Century

Jacques Van der Goten Madrid XVIIIth Century

Antoine Lenger Madrid XVIIIth Century