Lot Essay
Queen Artemisia, who succeeded her husband Mausolus on his death in 353 B.C. and raised a great monument (mausoleum) to his memory at Halicarnassus, often symbolized a widow's devotion to her husband. The written inspiration for the series of tapestries was the epic story composed by Nicolas Houel in 1562 in honor of Catherine de' Medici, which paralled the life of the then Queen of France to the ancient Queen.
During the first third of the seventeenth century the Artemisia series became one of the most popular series in France and was the largest series produced by the workshop of Frans van der Planken and Marc de Comans. The Minneapolis Institute of Art owns the suite offered in 1625 by Louis XIII to the cardinal legate François Barberini. For a complete discussion of this series, see C. Adelson, European Tapestry in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, 1994, pp. 161-200.
The original drawing for the present lot is illustrated in M. Fenaille, État Général des Tapisseries de la Manufacture des Gobelins, 1923, vol. I, p. 169.
During the first third of the seventeenth century the Artemisia series became one of the most popular series in France and was the largest series produced by the workshop of Frans van der Planken and Marc de Comans. The Minneapolis Institute of Art owns the suite offered in 1625 by Louis XIII to the cardinal legate François Barberini. For a complete discussion of this series, see C. Adelson, European Tapestry in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, 1994, pp. 161-200.
The original drawing for the present lot is illustrated in M. Fenaille, État Général des Tapisseries de la Manufacture des Gobelins, 1923, vol. I, p. 169.