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Lot Essay
The first recorded set of grotesque tapestries was commissioned in 1520 by Pope Leo X, and was woven in the Brussels workshop of Pieter van Aelst after cartoons by Giovanni da Udine. The grotesque motifs were inspired by the late 15th century discovery of Nero's Domus Aurea, and rediscovered by Raphael who employed them in the Vatican Loggia and in the borders of the 'Acts of the Apostles' series. Sets with grotesque designs were also woven in France and Italy from the 16th century onwards.
In France, the taste for the grotesque first appeared with the arrival of the Italian artists working at Fontainbleau. During the 17th century numerous sets of tapestries employing grotesque designs were woven at the Royal Manufacture des Gobelins after mid-16th century Brussels prototypes in the collection of the mobilier de la couronne.
The present tapestry comes from a series woven in Antwerp in the workshop of Michel Wauters. A complete set of tapestries by Wauters featuring a central mythological figure flanked by grotesques can be found at Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen. The Danish set includes a weaving of Mars which is identical to the present lot except for the borders which feature masks, herm figures and a fruit and floral design. According to the Wauters family inventories, the manufacture of the grotesque tapestries continued after his death in 1679.
The only other known examples of this type were a set of three tapestries (including the present lot) which were sold as Louis XIV Gobelins in the style of Brain in the Ch. Laurent sale, 15-20 June 1896. For a complete discussion, see V. Woldbye, 'Tapestries from the workshop of Michel Wauters in Antwerp at Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen', Artes Textiles, vol. 6, 1965, 75-92.
In France, the taste for the grotesque first appeared with the arrival of the Italian artists working at Fontainbleau. During the 17th century numerous sets of tapestries employing grotesque designs were woven at the Royal Manufacture des Gobelins after mid-16th century Brussels prototypes in the collection of the mobilier de la couronne.
The present tapestry comes from a series woven in Antwerp in the workshop of Michel Wauters. A complete set of tapestries by Wauters featuring a central mythological figure flanked by grotesques can be found at Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen. The Danish set includes a weaving of Mars which is identical to the present lot except for the borders which feature masks, herm figures and a fruit and floral design. According to the Wauters family inventories, the manufacture of the grotesque tapestries continued after his death in 1679.
The only other known examples of this type were a set of three tapestries (including the present lot) which were sold as Louis XIV Gobelins in the style of Brain in the Ch. Laurent sale, 15-20 June 1896. For a complete discussion, see V. Woldbye, 'Tapestries from the workshop of Michel Wauters in Antwerp at Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen', Artes Textiles, vol. 6, 1965, 75-92.