Neptune from the "Doria Grotesques"

Designer Designed by Perino del Vaga (Pietro Buonaccorsi) Italian
Woven by Anonymous Workshop Flemish
designed 1545, woven ca. 1550
Not on view
Like a classical statue come to life, Neptune, god of the seas, stands with his trident and a dolphin atop a pedestal amid curling plant tendrils, gamboling animals and putti, and elegant swags of drapery. In the cartouche above, Minerva receives a victory palm. This is the only intact version of "Neptune" from the thrice-woven series of tapestries called the Doria Grotesques. Perino del Vaga designed the eight-piece sequence in about 1545 for the naval commander Andrea Doria to add to the substantial tapestry collection in his glorious palazzo in Fassolo, then just outside the port city of Genoa. The Grotesques, each featuring a different deity, showcase Perino's dexterity in this decorative field, combining respect for antique prototypes with Raphael-inspired Renaissance grace. "Neptune", celebrating the mythological figure with whom Doria most identified, was the most significant tapestry in the group. Though designed in Italy, the tapestries were made 500 miles away in the Southern Netherlands, almost certainly in Brussels, where the most celebrated weavers in the world worked. This "Neptune" is exquisitely woven in wool and silk in a subtle palette, with wonderful hatching and nuanced areas of light and shade that exploit the medium's interplay between trompe l'oeil relief and surface pattern.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Neptune from the "Doria Grotesques"
  • Designer: Designed by Perino del Vaga (Pietro Buonaccorsi) (Italian, Florence 1501–1547 Rome)
  • Maker: Woven by Anonymous Workshop (Flemish)
  • Date: designed 1545, woven ca. 1550
  • Culture: Netherlandish, probably Brussels
  • Medium: Wool and silk (7-8 warps per cm.)
  • Dimensions: confirmed: 11 ft. 7 1/2 in. × 10 ft. 10 in. (354.3 × 330.2 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles-Tapestries
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 2011
  • Object Number: 2011.14
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.