The Triumph of Christ ("The Mazarin Tapestry")
c. 1500
Artist
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Gold and silver threads add life to this tapestry, often described as the finest surviving from the Middle Ages and early Renaissance. Everything indicates that this was an important commission: its size—more than 13 feet wide; its workmanship—woven with as many as 28 warp (vertical) threads per inch; and its lavish materials—with up to thirty percent of the surface woven with gold or silver wrapped threads. Perhaps this tapestry was made to celebrate a royal wedding, but the first information about it dates from 150 years after its creation. It was listed in a 1653 inventory of the effects of the powerful French Cardinal Mazarin, prime minister and virtual ruler of France. Mazarin owned more than 350 tapestries and prized this one among them.
Tapestries were generally more expensive, more valued than paintings; they served the dual purpose of insulating drafty rooms while beautifying them. For important tapestries, renowned artists would often draw the design, called a cartoon, which was then woven in specialized studios. By 1500 Brussels was the most important weaving center; the Mazarin Tapestry was probably made there although the artist responsible for the cartoon remains unknown.
The imagery depicted in The Triumph of Christ is derived from the Book of Revelation. In its whole, the composition shows three worlds united under Christ's reign—pagan, Old Testament, and contemporary Christian. In the center, Christ presides over the religious and secular worlds, represented by officials of the church and state (probably contemporary portraits). On the left, the Roman emperor Augustus learns from the Tiburtine sibyl (the female prophet of the Tiber River) about a holy mother and child. On the other side, the story of Esther, who persuaded her husband to spare her people (the Jews), prefigures Christ's salvation of all mankind. If the tapestry was commissioned for a wedding, Esther and King Ahasuerus are likely to be contemporary portraits also.
West Building Ground Floor, Gallery G19
Artwork overview
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Medium
tapestry: undyed wool warp; dyed wool, silk, and silver-gilt- and silver-wrapped silk weft
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Credit Line
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Dimensions
overall: 341 x 439.4 cm (134 1/4 x 173 in.)
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Accession
1942.9.446
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Cardinal Giulio Mazarini, called "Mazarin" [1602-1661], Paris, by September 1653;[1] by inheritance to Armand-Charles de la Porte, marquis de la Meilleray, duc de Mazarin [1632-1713; husband of the Cardinal's niece, Hortense Mancini], Paris; purchased on the marquis' death by Claude Louis Hector, duc de Villars [1653-1734]; by inheritance to his son, Honoré-Armand, duc de Villars, prince de Martigues [1702-1770], Château des Aygalades, Bouches-du-Rhône; acquired on the duc's death, with the château, by Mr. Mestre d'Aygalades; purchased with the château by Mr. Barras de la Penne; displayed 1819 by him, supposedly for sale, at the Hôtel des Archives du Royaume, Paris;[2] purchased by a Russian nobleman, St. Petersburg; traced and brought back to France by Louis-Joseph-Alphonse-Jules, comte de Castellane [1782-1861], who had acquired the Château des Aygalades;[3] his heirs; sold 1901 to (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris);[4] purchased 1901 by J. Pierpont Morgan [1838-1913], London and New York; by inheritance to his son, J. Pierpont Morgan, Jr. [1867-1943], New York; sold April 1916 to (P.W. French and Company, New York);[5] purchased 11 May 1916 by Joseph E. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania;[6] inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener; gift 1942 to NGA.
[1] The provenance given here is based on George Henry McCall, The Joseph Widener collection. Tapestries at Lynnewood hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1932: 47, and expanded by the research of Dr. Candace Adelson.
Roger-Armand Weigert, "L'âge d'or de la tapisserie flamande et les collections de Mazarin," in _De Bloeitijd van de vlaamse tapijtkunst, Internationaal Colloquium, 23-25 mei 1961_, Brussels, 1969: 423-424, disagreed with the traditional provenance from Cardinal Mazarin, stating that the tapestry did not appear in either of the Mazarin inventories, made in 1653 and 1661. However, Gertrude Townsend, then curator of textiles at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, pointed out to John Walker in letters of 21 and 27 January 1943 (in NGA curatorial files), that the tapestry did correspond with no. 1735 of the 1661 inventory, despite a slight difference in dimensions, an argument also accepted by Jean-Paul Asselberghs, _Les tapisseries flamandes aux Etats-Unis d'Amérique_, Brussels, 1974: 43-44. The 1661 description ("Post-mortem inventory of Cardinal Mazarin, May 1661, Bibliothèque, Paris, _Mélanges de Colbert_, 75: fol. 449r; published in Gabriel-Jules, comte de Gosnac, _Les Richesses du Palais Mazarin_, 2nd ed., Paris, 1885: 400, no. 1735) reads: "1735. Une autre pièce de tapisserie, fabrique d'Angleterre, de laine et soie relevée d'or, très riche, représentant _Dieu le Père dans un trône_, quatre anges à ses costez, et quantité d'histoires du Vieil et Nouveau Testament, avecq sa petite bordure parsemée de pierreries fines relevées d'or, haulte de deux aulnes trois quarts et large de trois aulnes et demye ou environ, prisée à la somme de six cent cinquante livres, cy -- 650 L. [livres] T."
Sophie Schneebalg-Perelman, "Un nouveau regard sur les origines et le développement de la tapisserie bruxelloise du XIVe siècle à la pré-Renaissance," in _Tapisseries bruxelloises_, 1976: 183, suggests that some of the English attributions in 17th-century French inventories reflect provenance, and it is known Mazarin acquired many pieces in his collection from England. His agent followed the sales of Charles I's collection from 1649 to 1653, but none of the king's listed tapestries can be matched to the NGA piece; for instance, the two pieces of _Christ Sitting in Judgment_ were too large (about 35 square meters each). A Charles I provenance cannot entirely be ruled out, however; many descriptions are of sets, or are imprecise, for instance the expensive _Divers Storys_ at Whitehall (L. 22, no dimensions); see W.G. Thomson, _A History of Tapestry From the Earliest Times until the Present Day_, London, 1906: 361, no. 3; 389, no. 968.
The NGA tapestry is also identifiable in Mazarin's earlier 1653 inventory by its dimensions and type of border ("Inventory of Cardinal Mazarin's effects, 12 September 1653," in Jean-Baptiste Colbert, _Inventaire de tous les meubles du Cardinal Mazarin Dressé en 1653_, London, 1861: 146): "Une autre pièce de tapisserie de laine et soie, fabriquee d'Angleterre, représentant diverses histoires du Vieux Testament en trois arcades, les figures moindres que le naturel, et une bordure fort estroite, parsemée de perles et pierreries, haute de deux aunes deux tiers et demi, large de trois aunes et demie moins un pouce."
[2] McCall 1932: 47, gave the date as 1824.
[3] McCall 1932, 47, attributes the return of the tapestry to Les Aygalades to Jules de Castellane's better-known nephew, Esprit-Victor-Boniface. The château belonged, however, to Jules, a noted amateur. See Esprit-Victor-Elisabeth-Boniface de Castellane, Journal du Maréchal de Castellane 1804-1862, 5 vols., Paris, 1895-1897: 2:314-315; 5:217, and M. Prevost and Roman d'Amat, Dictionnaire de Biographie française, Paris, 1951-: a.v. Castellane, no. 23.
[4] Gustave Migeon, Les Arts du tissu, Paris, 1909: 238, says Morgan bought the tapestry from a certain Chabrière, whom Hermann Schmitz (Bildteppiche: Geschicte der Gobellinwirkerei, Berlin, 1919: 206), infers to be the Lyon collector Chabrières-d'Arles. It might also have been the Castellane heir(s), or representative. Edward Fowles, Memories of Duveen Brothers, London, 1976: 21, says the tapestry was offered in 1901 from the south of France to Duveen, who resold it to Morgan.
[5] The high price paid for the tapestry, first by French & Co. and shortly thereafter by Widener, made newspaper headlines; see The New York Times (21 April 1916): 9, and New York Tribune (30 April 1916): n.p., repro.
[6] Edith A. Standen, Widener collection curator, ms. note on Widener collection card, in NGA curatorial files.
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1819
L'Hôtel des Archives du Royaume, Paris, 1819 or 1824, or possibly 1819-1824.
1901
Loan for display with the permanent collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1902-1909 (except when shown in Brussels in 1905).
1902
Coronation of King Edward VII, Westminster Abbey, London, 1902.
1905
Exposition d'Art Ancien Bruxellois, Cercle Artistique et Littéraire, Brussels, 1905, no. 9.
1909
Loan to display with permanent collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1909-1916.
1973
Tapisseries de la Fin du Moyen-Age et du Debut de la Renaissance, Palais du Louvre, Paris; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1973-1974, no. 74.
Bibliography
1935
Inventory of the Objects d'Art at Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, The Estate of the Late P.A.B. Widener. Philadelphia, 1935: 119-120.
1942
Works of Art from the Widener Collection. Foreword by David Finley and John Walker. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 19, as Brussels, about 1500.
1973
Finley, David Edward. A Standard of Excellence: Andrew W. Mellon Founds the National Gallery of Art at Washington. Washington, 1973: 101.
1974
Columbus, Joseph. "Tapestry Restoration at the National Gallery." Studies in the History of Art vol. 6 (1974):174-187, repro.
1991
Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 200, 201, color repros.
1992
National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 309, repro.
2000
National Gallery of Art Special Issue. Connaissance des Arts. Paris, 2000:62.
Périer-D’Ieteren, Catheline and Cecilia Paredes. "Rapports entre tapisseries et retables bruxellois." Âge d’or bruxellois. Tapisseries de la Couronne d’Espagne. Exh cat, Cathédrale Saint-Michel, Brussels, 2000:116, 118, fig. 2, 119, 120, fig. 4 detail.
2002
Parma, Elena. Rapporti artistici tra Genova e le Fiandre nei secoli XV e XVI. Genoa, 2002: 89, 102, n. 32.
2003
Bremer-David, Charissa. "French & Company and American Collections of Tapestries , 1907-1959." Studies in the Decorative Arts XI, no. 1 (Fall-Winter 2003-2004):41, repro. 42.
2007
Campbell, Thomas P. Henry VIII and the Art of Majesty. Tapestries at the Tudor Court. New Haven and London, 2007: 83 – 88, repro. 84 and 88, 357-359, as probably woven in the workshop run by Pieter Van Aelst in Brussels, possibly made for King Henry VII of England.
2013
Burke, Julia M., Lisha Deming Glinsman, John K. Delaney, Suzanne Quillen Lomax, Kathryn M. Morales, Michael Palmer, Christina Lynn Cole, and Paola Ricciardi. “Technical Study of The Triumph of Christ (The Mazarin Tapestry).” Facture : conservation, science, art history 1 (2013): 78-103, figs. 1, 2, 5-8, 11.
2019
Vignon, Charlotte. Duveen Brothers and the Market for Decorative Arts, 1880-1940. New York, 2019: 128-129, 212, 213 fig. 76, 214, 273 nn. 727-729, 732.
Inscriptions
on a plaque suspended from the center of the left arch, the final "r" in the second and fourth lines superscript: rege[m] regu[m] adorauit / august[us] imparat[o]r / cü[m] sibilla demö[n]straui[t] / quo patuit saluat[o]r (the Emperor Augustus worshipped the King of Kings when the Sibyl showed to him where the Savoir was apparent); on the base-beam of this same compartment: octauian (Octavianus); on a plaque suspended from the center of the right arch, the final "r" in the third line superscript: cü[m]osculatafuerat / scept[r]u[m]üassueri / hestersciphovtit[u]r* / regisplei[n]omeri (when she had kissed the scepter of Ahasuerus, Esther drank from the king's cup, which was full of wine)
Wikidata ID
Q62268432