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Printing Instructions

Tapestry in the Renaissance: Art and Magnificence

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The Killing of the Wild Boar (Month of December)
From a twelve-piece Hunts of Maximilian
Design by Bernaert van Orley, ca. 1528–31
Woven in the Dermoyen workshop, Brussels, 1531–33
Wool, silk, and silver- and gilt-metal-wrapped thread; 14 ft. 5 1/4 in. x 19 ft. 10 1/4 in. (440 x 605 cm)
Mark of the Dermoyen workshop (lower right selvage)
Département des Objets d'Art, Musée du Louvre, Paris

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Description

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Description In this scene—below the sign of Capricorn, the Goat—an enormous boar is attacked by three great hunting dogs (one in armor) and two smaller ones, while another dog lies wounded or dead on the ground. The central figure, on horseback, is almost certainly a portrait of the passionate hunter Ferdinand of Habsburg, brother of Charles V. The imperial character of the scene is further emphasized by the heraldry on the embroidered dog collars; among other insignia are the pillars of Hercules, the personal emblem of Charles V. The chapel and houses in the distance on the right have been identified as the village of Terhulpen (La Hulpe), north of Brussels.

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