A PARIS MYTHOLOGICAL TAPESTRY
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A PARIS MYTHOLOGICAL TAPESTRY

BY FRANÇOIS DE LA PLANCHE, AFTER A DESIGN ATTRIBUTED TO TOUISSANT DUBREUIL AND THE BORDER DESIGN ATTRIBUTED TO LAURENT GUYOT, CIRCA 1620

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A PARIS MYTHOLOGICAL TAPESTRY
BY FRANÇOIS DE LA PLANCHE, AFTER A DESIGN ATTRIBUTED TO TOUISSANT DUBREUIL AND THE BORDER DESIGN ATTRIBUTED TO LAURENT GUYOT, CIRCA 1620
Woven in wools and silks, depicting 'The Death of Orion' from the 'Story of Diana' with Diana and her nymphs seated in the foreground, behind them Apollo pointing to a dark shade in the water and Diana taking aim at the figure, in a mountainous landscape, within an elaborate border with scrollong foliage and flower heads, the upper and lower border centred by military trophies in oblong cartouches and flanked by winged terms, the sides centred by Medusa's masks in scrollwork cartouches, the blue outer slip with remains of the Paris town mark and fleur-de-lys, and weaver's mark 'FVP' above a red carnation, some losses to the silk as well as small areas of repair throughout
13 ft. 7 in. x 13 ft. 6 in. (410 cm. x 408 cm)
注意事項
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拍品專文

The Story of Diana was one of the most successful tapestry series designed by the Parisian workshop in the faubourg Saint-Marcel in the early 17th century. Over twenty different sets have been identified, including three made for the French crown and one each for the Spanish ambassador, cardinal Barberini and cardinal Richelieu.

The design for The Death of Orion is attributed to Toussaint Dubreuil (1561 - 1602). Dubreuil was appointed peintre ordinaire of Henri III and was charged with the decoration of the Pavillion des Posies at château de Fontainebleau and the Galerie d'Apollon at the Louvre. It is probable that he drew the designs for the eight tapestries between 1597 and 1600, bit it is not entirely clear when the first set was woven. It is only sure that this first set was completed before 1606 as cardinal Maffeo Barberini visited Fontainebleau at that date to choose a series of tapestries for cardinal Montalto and he found this series particularly appealing and appropriate. One set of these tapestries, with the original cartoons, is mentioned in 1627 in the inventory drawn up on the death of François de la Planche. Two further panels were later added to extend the series to ten tapestries. The first border design by Dubreuil was probably only used on two sets, while the design of this border appears to be unrecorded. The weaving of The Story of Diana tapestries to these cartoons only ceased in the mid-1630s when Simon Vouet introduced a new style of imagery to the weaver's ateliers of Paris.

WEAVER AND DATE
The ateliers in the faubourg Saint-Marcel were established when Marc and Jérôme de Comans and François de la Planche formed an association in 1601 but François de la Planche and Marc Comans only received the Royal decree in the 1607. Upon the death of de la Planche in 1627 and the retirement of Marc Comans in 1628, their sons took over the workshop. The association only lasted until 1633 when Raphaël de la Planche moved his own atelier in the faubourg Saint-Germain.
The small flower signature has yet to be firmly linked to a weaver. It has recently been suggested by C. Adelson (European Tapestry in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 1994, pp. 181-82) that the weaver using the flower, who appears to have been the head of a metallic yarn workshop, would not have been active long after 1620, because he did not feature among weavings of sets in 1623.

A set of eight tapestries by Philippe de Maecht, the earliest surviving suite, is in the Spanish Royal Collection (P. Junquera de Vega and C. Diaz Gallegos, Catalogo de Tapices del Patrimonio Nacional, Madrid, 1986, vol. II, pp. 6 - 14, this subject being p. 10), while another set of six tapestries is at the Palace of Holyroodhouse (M. Swain, Tapestries and Textiles at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, 1988, pp. 50 - 55, this subject being panel e). A set of five tapestries from this series, formerly the property of Archbold van Beuren, Gray Craig, Newport, was sold Christie's, house sale, 23 - 24 Junly 1985, lot 227, and again anonymously at Christie's, New York, 11 January 1994, lots 220 - 224, this subject being 224. A further set of six tapestries with the arms of the Pallavicini Family, from the property of The Pierpont Morgan Library, was sold at Christie's, London, 6 July 1961, lot 53.

SUBJECT
Apollo believed his sister Diana was in love with Orion, a hunter of gigantic stature. While Diana was hunting on the island of Delos, Apollo saw him swimming and challenged her to hit the dark object in the water with her arrow. Orion died and his image turned into a constellation.