From the Middle Ages until the late eighteenth century, the courts of Europe lavished vast resources on tapestries made of precious materials after designs by the leading artists of the day. This international loan exhibition, conceived as a sequel to "Tapestry in the Renaissance: Art and Magnificence" (spring 2002), is the first comprehensive survey of high-quality seventeenth-century European tapestry. Drawing from collections in more than fifteen countries, it presents some forty rare tapestries made in Brussels, Delft, Florence, London, Munich, Paris, and Rome between 1590 and 1720, along with approximately twenty-five drawings, engravings, and oil sketches. The exhibition investigates the stylistic and technical development of this prestigious figurative medium and explores the contributions of artists such as Peter Paul Rubens, Jacob Jordaens, Simon Vouet, Charles Le Brun, Pietro da Cortona, and Giovanni Romanelli, as they responded to the challenges of the medium in unique and spectacular ways.
An overview of the exhibition by Metropolitan Museum curator Thomas P. Campbell.
Our YouTube channel features a wide variety of videos, including behind-the-scenes footage and curatorial talks.
A two-day symposium was held in connection with this exhibition on Saturday, October 20, and Sunday, October 21.
The exhibition is made possible by the Hochberg Foundation Trust and the Gail and Parker Gilbert Fund.
Corporate support is provided by Fortis.
The exhibition is also made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Society of Friends of Belgium in America, and the Flemish Government.
The catalogue is made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, Inc., and the Doris Duke Fund for Publications.
The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, with the generous participation of the Patrimonio Nacional, Madrid.
It is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
