Existing comment:
Renaissance: The Sixteenth Century:
Almost all important European tapestries before 1600 were woven in a region called Flanders or the Southern Netherlands, an area that roughly corresponds to Belgium today. From about 1500 onward the most important production center was Brussels, but there were other well-known workshops nearby in Arras, Lille, Tournai, and Bruges. The powerful impact of the Renaissance meant that Brussels weavers sought designs from Italian artists such as Raphael, his followers, and others trained in the new style. Likewise, Bernaert van Orley, an innovator in Brussels, brought a greater sense of depth, perspective, and clearer narrative action into his compositions. Increasingly, tapestries represented scenes viewed through the framing border, as if looking through a large window.
Raphael's tapestry series of the Act of the Apostles was commissioned by Pope Leo X in 1515 and was intended to complete the decoration of the Sistine Chapel, where Michelangelo had recently finished his famous ceiling frescoes in 1512. Asking Raphael, the foremost painter of the day, to create tapestry designs was an unprecedented request by any other pope or king. The artist produced a radically new vision concept for the ten hangings. In the illustration above a single row of large figures tells the story of the Miraculous Draught of Fishes (Luke 5:5-12), in which Jesus calls Peter, James, and John to follow him as his first disciples. The scene is set in a realistic landscape with a view of Rome and mountains in the distance; the three cranes in the foreground add to the sense of perspective and depth. The main scene is highly detailed, yet the tapestry border consists of a modest ornamental band derived from classical architecture. Only the bottom edge features a complex friezelike composition in colors imitating the golden tones and bright highlights of metalwork. These figures analogize important events from Leo X's career, particularly his arrival in Rome and election to the papacy in 1513, suggesting a connection between the biblical scene above and the tapestry patron who, as pope, was considered to be the successor of St. Peter. |