Interior scene
In an intriguing conceit, a portrait, as if painted on a framed panel, is displayed within this woven scene, actually represented in the silks and woolen threads of tapestry.
Despite its considerable size, this is a fragment cut from an even larger narrative tapestry of monumental scale. As such, the subject matter remains frustratingly opaque. Given the rich interior and courtly, contemporary fashions worn by the protagonists, past scholars have been tempted to identify this as a record of an actual historical event. It has been suggested, for example, as recording Margaret of Austria showing a portrait of her fiancé, Philibert II, Duke of Savoy, to her father, Emperor Maximilian I, before their 1501 marriage. Given the sixteenth-century convention to portray the protagonists of ancient, classical and Biblical histories- all popular in tapestry- in embellished versions of contemporary dress, however, this could more likely be a scene from such a fictive, and as yet unidentified, history.
Despite its considerable size, this is a fragment cut from an even larger narrative tapestry of monumental scale. As such, the subject matter remains frustratingly opaque. Given the rich interior and courtly, contemporary fashions worn by the protagonists, past scholars have been tempted to identify this as a record of an actual historical event. It has been suggested, for example, as recording Margaret of Austria showing a portrait of her fiancé, Philibert II, Duke of Savoy, to her father, Emperor Maximilian I, before their 1501 marriage. Given the sixteenth-century convention to portray the protagonists of ancient, classical and Biblical histories- all popular in tapestry- in embellished versions of contemporary dress, however, this could more likely be a scene from such a fictive, and as yet unidentified, history.
Artwork Details
- Title: Interior scene
- Date: ca. 1520–25
- Culture: Netherlandish, probably Brussels
- Medium: Wool, silk (15-16 warps per inch, 6-7 per cm.)
- Dimensions: H. 70 x W. 59 inches (177.8 x 149.9 cm)
- Classification: Textiles-Tapestries
- Credit Line: The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931
- Object Number: 32.100.390
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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Netherlandish, probably Brussels
ca. 1502–4
Multiple artists/makers
designed ca. 1540, woven ca. 1570
Multiple artists/makers
designed ca. 1540, woven ca. 1570
Cornelis Floris II
ca. 1550–60
Cornelis Floris II
ca. 1550–60
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