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The Liberation of Oriane from a set of Amadis of Gaul

Designer Designed by Karel van Mander I Netherlandish
Weaving workshop directed by Frans Spiering Flemish
ca. 1590–95
Not on view
This tapestry depicts scenes from Amadis of Gaul, a chivalric romance that enjoyed great popularity in European court circles in the late sixteenth century. Amadis, a knight from Gaul, has fallen in love with Oriane, daughter of the King of England, but she and the "Damsel of Denmark" have been kidnapped by the king's enemy, Arcalaus. Here we see Oriane's rescue. Toward the center of the scene Amadis encounters the army of Arcalaus and defeats each of his soldiers before finally confronting and killing Arcalaus. In the foreground, Amadis and Oriane are re-united.

Woven from a design by Karel van Mander I, the tapestry is a rare example of late sixteenth-century Dutch production. It was made in the Delft workshop of the merchant-weaver Frans Spiering (ca. 1550–1620) who had relocated from Antwerp because of the religious turmoil of the era. The Spiering enterprise enjoyed great success between 1590 and 1620, providing high-quality tapestries to the Protestant courts of northern Europe who were no longer able to buy tapestries from Brussels, the traditional source of high-quality tapestries. Spiering seems to have enjoyed the unusual privilege of being able to use the coveted "BB" symbol of Brussels' production, even though he was not working in that town.

Spiering's tapestries had a high silk content, rendering them especially vulnerable to light damage. This tapestry is remarkable for the intensity and richness of its color.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Liberation of Oriane from a set of Amadis of Gaul
  • Designer: Designed by Karel van Mander I (Netherlandish, Meulebeke 1548–1606 Amsterdam)
  • Maker: Weaving workshop directed by Frans Spiering (Flemish, 1551–ca. 1630)
  • Date: ca. 1590–95
  • Culture: Dutch, Delft
  • Medium: Wool and silk (8-9 warps per cm)
  • Dimensions: Overall (confirmed): H. 139 x W. 159 1/4 in. (353.1 x 404.5 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles-Tapestries
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Walter and Leonore Annenberg and The Annenberg Foundation Fund, 2006
  • Object Number: 2006.36
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

More Artwork
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The Servants of Absalom killing Amnon (2 Samuel 13, 28-29); verso: Sketch of a seated woman, Karel van Mander I Netherlandish, Pen and brown ink, brown wash; verso: black chalk. Two framing lines in pen and brown ink
The Servants of Absalom killing Amnon (2 Samuel 13, 28-29); verso: Sketch of a seated woman
Karel van Mander I
Anonymous, Dutch, 17th century
late 16th–early 17th century
A Proverb: Wealth and Poverty, Karel van Mander I Netherlandish, Pen and brown ink, gray wash, heightened with white, on beige paper.
A Proverb: Wealth and Poverty
Karel van Mander I
mid-16th–early 17th century
Samuel Annointing David (recto); Sketch of two figures (verso), Karel van Mander I Netherlandish, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown and gray wash; pasted down (recto); pen and brown ink, incised and rubbed with black chalk (verso)
Samuel Annointing David (recto); Sketch of two figures (verso)
Karel van Mander I
ca. 1591
The Challenge of the Pierides, from Ovid's Metamorphosis (Book V: 294-678), Karel van Mander I Netherlandish, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash; framing lines in pen and brown ink
The Challenge of the Pierides, from Ovid's Metamorphosis (Book V: 294-678)
Karel van Mander I
16th–17th century
Hunters in a Landscape, Anonymous, 16th century, Wool, silk (14 warps per inch; 5-6 per cm), British, probably London
Hunters in a Landscape
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1575–95

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Designed by Karel van Mander I - The Liberation of Oriane from a set of Amadis of Gaul - Dutch, Delft - The Metropolitan Museum of Art