Antique Flemish Tapestry Brussels Manufactory

Description

“The rest”
Hand-woven tapestries
Period: late 17th century
Dimensions: cm 300 x 250

Tapestry-making in Brussels started in the 14th century in small-scale workshops. The earliest pieces that can be identified with almost complete certainty date back to the decade between 1460 and 1470. One of these bears the coat of arms of Charles the Bold against a MILLE-FLEUR background, probably from the school of the most famous tapestry-maker in Brussels at the time, Jean de Hoze (Bern, Historisches Museum). The outstanding sensitivity to colour that emerged there later reflects connections with contemporary Flemish painting, and suggests that Brussels-based tapestry-makers had a higher degree of understanding of this aspect than their counterparts in ARRAS or TOURNAI. As from the 16th century, Brussels became the most important centre of European tapestry-making. This golden age of Brussels tapestry production was dominated by the renowned series known as The Communion of Herkenbald and The Acts of the Apostles, designed by Raphael, and the Hunts of Maximilian, The Story of Jacob and The Conquest of Tunis. These latter works are attributed to tapestry-makers such as Leon de Smet, Pieter van Aelst, or collaborations between the painter Bernard van Orley and several tapestry-makers.
Following a period of crisis in the late 16th century, triggered by political uncertainty in the Netherlands, there was a revival in the first half of the 17th century, led by Rubens. Baroque art, with its propensity for enlarged figures in the foreground, left its mark. This can be seen in the Decius Mus cycle and The Apotheosis of the Eucharist series, which were woven in various editions in the workshop of Jan Raes, in collaboration with Frans van den Hecke. Jan Raes was rightly considered to be the greatest tapestry-maker of the age.
The Rubensian Baroque style was perpetuated by Jacob Jordaens, who provided the cartoons for numerous series of tapestries, including The Story of Ulysses and The Story of Charlemagne, examples of which are kept in the Quirinale, one of the official residences of President of the Republic of Italy.

Architectural features, fountains, gardens and tree-lined avenues form the backdrop to the scene depicted in the foreground, where a lady rests in the shade of the trees, surrounded by her maidservants.
The luxuriant outer border reprises the design of the carved wooden frames typically found on antique paintings.