Tapestries Their Origin History And Renaissance

y come to meet it. The duke and nobles gather at the wharfs. R. The magnanimous prince, rendering homage to the celestial presence, kneels and takes the holy object in his hands. S. The dukes, father and son, raise the grateful stretcher, and the radiant Virgin is borne to the chosen place. /. She is placed in a sacred chapel as patron for the wretched, and great crowds address to her prayers that are not disdained. V. Honour then this Mary with worship devout, and she will grant you the rewards that you deserve. The occasion of the weaving of this set of tapestries was the founding of a chapel, in the Brussels church Notre Dame du Sablon, by Francis de Taxis, imperial postmaster-general, whose death in 1517, before the completion of the tapestry, devolved upon his nephew and successor Jean-Baptiste de Taxis the pious duty of executing his last wishes. About Raphael's designs for Pope Leo X's Acts of the Apostles tapestries there is nothing transitional, nothing Flemish, nothing Gothic. Panels and borders alike represent the full and free expression of the Italian Renaissance. It is evident at first glance that the painter of these cartoons knew little about tapestry texture. The problems set the weaver were not textile problems but paint problems,as the result proves. The Raphael cartoons did more harm to the art of tapestry-weaving than all other influences combined. The greatness of the artist and of his achievements misled the world, and caused critics to a...