Lot Essay
Marc de Comans and Frans van den Planken, called François de la Planche (active 1601-1627) became partners founding the Comans-La Planche manufactory in the Faubourg Saint-Marcel in 1601.
The source of this series was Torquato Tasso's Aminta, an Arcadian romance published in 1573 which was immediately popular. The story of Rinaldo and Armida from his Gerusalemme Liberta of 1574 similarly formed the subject for a series of Paris tapestries as did Guarini's Pastor Fido of 1590 which closely recalls Tasso's Arminta, however, the latter two subjects proved to be more popular.
Francesco Barberini (159701678), a nephew of Pope Urban VIII, was sent by his uncle to Paris as Papal Legate in 1625-26, at which time Louis XIII presented him with a set of tapestries depicting the Story of Constantine. He was again in Paris, as an exile following the death of the Pope, from 1646048, but it is more likely that the present tapestries were acquired on his first visit. In 1633, the Cardinal founded the Barberini tapestry manufactory in Rome.
The source of this series was Torquato Tasso's Aminta, an Arcadian romance published in 1573 which was immediately popular. The story of Rinaldo and Armida from his Gerusalemme Liberta of 1574 similarly formed the subject for a series of Paris tapestries as did Guarini's Pastor Fido of 1590 which closely recalls Tasso's Arminta, however, the latter two subjects proved to be more popular.
Francesco Barberini (159701678), a nephew of Pope Urban VIII, was sent by his uncle to Paris as Papal Legate in 1625-26, at which time Louis XIII presented him with a set of tapestries depicting the Story of Constantine. He was again in Paris, as an exile following the death of the Pope, from 1646048, but it is more likely that the present tapestries were acquired on his first visit. In 1633, the Cardinal founded the Barberini tapestry manufactory in Rome.