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Tapestry in the Baroque: Threads of Splendor
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The Siege of Bouchain III (detail)
From an eleven-piece set of the Victories of the Duke of Marlborough
Design and cartoon by Philippe de Hondt, ca. 1712–15
Woven in the workshop of Judocus de Vos, Brussels, ca. 1714–15
Wool and silk; 14 ft. 5 1/4 in. x 26 ft. 5 3/4 in. (440 x 807 cm)
The Trustees of the Marlborough Chattels Settlement, Blenheim Palace, Woodstock
See an image of the entire panel.
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John Churchill (1650–1722) won international fame as the captain general of the allied forces in the War of the Spanish Succession, which pitched England, Holland, and Austria against France and Spain in a struggle over the partition of the Spanish territories after the death of the childless King Charles II. Marlborough stunned the enemy with successive victories between 1704 and 1711, which effectively broke the French military supremacy in Europe and set the stage for the development and expansion of the British Empire in the following decades. In November 1708, Marlborough commissioned a set of tapestries depicting the early victories at Blenheim (1704), Ramillies (1706), and Oudenaarde (1708) from Judocus de Vos, the leading tapestry merchant in Brussels, from designs by Philibert de Hondt. All were intended for Blenheim Palace, the new home that was being constructed for Marlborough at the expense of the English nation. The tapestry included here is the third in a trilogy depicting the events of the Battle of Bouchain (1711), the final campaign in the war. Subsequent victories were added to the scheme in the following years.
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