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Tancred Frees Herminia, from The Story of Tancred and Clorinda

Workshop of Raphael de la Planche Flemish
1645–60
Not on view
In a scene of early modern European fantasy, a Muslim princess, Herminia, recollects the magnanimity shown her by Christian conqueror, Tancred, in the setting of the ruined and ravished city of Antioch (in modern-day Turkey). The sixteenth-century epic poem inspiring it, La Gerusalemme Liberata written by Torquato Tasso, ostensibly recounted the eleventh-century religious wars– known as “The First Crusade”– initiated by the Latin Church to [re]claim the Holy Land from Islamic rule. However, factually wildly inaccurate, the story was primarily a sensational romance, and thinly veiled propaganda against the rapidly expanding Ottoman empire. Recognizing a burgeoning market for such subject matter, the tapestry was expertly woven by Flemish weavers, themselves refugees from the Protestant-Catholic religious wars, in a small but exceedingly successful commercial workshop in Paris.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Tancred Frees Herminia, from The Story of Tancred and Clorinda
  • Designer: Michel Corneille the Elder (French, Orléans 1602–1664 Paris)
  • Maker: Workshop of Raphael de la Planche (Flemish, active 1632–1661)
  • Date: 1645–60
  • Culture: French, Paris
  • Medium: Wool and silk, 8 warps per cm.
  • Dimensions: 11 ft. 6 in. × 15 ft. 2 in. (3.51 × 4.62)
  • Classification: Textiles-Tapestries
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mr. Alex Donics and Mr. Jean-Marc Donics, in memory of Mameya, 2024
  • Object Number: 2025.855
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

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Tancred and Clorinda, from the story "Gerusalemme Liberata"
mid-18th century
Allegorical Figures for a Ceiling Decoration, Michel Corneille the Elder French, Black chalk, heightened with white chalk, on beige paper.
Allegorical Figures for a Ceiling Decoration
Michel Corneille the Elder
Former Attribution Formerly attributed to Pierre Mignard
17th century
Costume Armor in the Classical Style, Hallé French, Helmet: linen, papier-mâché, bole, gold leaf, graphite; tunic: silk, cotton, metal coils and spangles, metallic yarn, French, Paris
Costume Armor in the Classical Style
Helmet includes original paper label of Hallé
ca. 1788–90
Hunters in a Landscape, Anonymous, 16th century, Wool, silk (14 warps per inch; 5-6 per cm), British, probably London
Hunters in a Landscape
Designer Anonymous, 16th century
With elements after a design on a woodcut by Jost Amman
Woven by Anonymous Flemish weavers
ca. 1575–95
The Combat of Manricardo and Zerbino from a set illustrating Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, Raphaël de La Planche, Wool, silk (16-18 warps per inch, 6-7 per cm.), French, Paris
The Combat of Manricardo and Zerbino from a set illustrating Ariosto's Orlando Furioso
Manufactory probably Manufactory of Raphaël de La Planche
1630–50

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