THE SPANISH SERIES
THE SPANISH ROYAL
TAPESTRIES
THE SPANISH SERIES
_EDITED BY ALBERT F. CALVERT_
GOYA
TOLEDO
MADRID
SEVILLE
MURILLO
CORDOVA
EL GRECO
VELASQUEZ
THE PRADO
THE ESCORIAL
SCULPTURE IN SPAIN
MURCIA AND VALENCIA
ROYAL PALACES OF SPAIN
SPANISH ARMS AND ARMOUR
GRANADA AND ALHAMBRA
LEON, BURGOS AND SALAMANCA
TAPESTRIES OF THE ROYAL PALACE
CATALONIA AND BALEARIC ISLANDS
VALLADOLID, OVIEDO, SEGOVIA
ZAMORA, AVILA AND ZARAGOZA
LONDON
JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD
THE SPANISH ROYAL
TAPESTRIES
BY ALBERT F. CALVERT
WITH 277 ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD
NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY MCMXXI
H. & K., Ltd., London, S.E. 1
PREFACE
In point of size, scope and general interest, this little book is
perhaps the least considerable of the score of volumes comprised in The
Spanish Series, but the collection would have lacked something of the
completeness I have endeavoured to secure for it, if the subject of
which it treats had not been included. As is inevitable in a series of
this kind, many of the books are devoted to aspects and monuments of
Spanish history and achievement, which have served the purpose of
writers in all ages, but which could not, on that account, be omitted,
while others have an imperative claim to inclusion on the ground that,
though of secondary importance, they have never been dealt with
elsewhere.
The Tapestries which are here reproduced in greater number and variety
than has hitherto been attempted are known to students and connoisseurs
the world over, but the measure of that knowledge is limited. Many of
the pieces in the possession of the Spanish Crown were acquired by
purchase or inheritance, and others were woven in the Netherlands to the
command of its Burgundian rulers, Margaret of Austria and Mary of
Hungary. The fabrics designed by Goya owed their existence to the
extraordinary interest displayed in the products of the looms by Charles
III., while the famous Tunis Tapestries were designed and woven by Jan
Vermay or Vermeyen, the Court painter and Wilhelm Pannemaker, the
celebrated Flemish weaver, under the personal direction of the Emperor
Charles V. Vermeyen accompanied the expedition which was launched
against Tunis by Charles in 1535 and made his sketches on the spot; the
contract given to Pannemaker by his Imperial patron stipulated the
amount and quality of the silk and the number and value of the gold and
silver threads to be employed; and both designs and finished pieces had
to be submitted to the Emperor’s scrutiny and approval before the
purchase price was paid.
The Tunis Series was completed in 1554. The Tapestries were displayed in
England on the occasion of the marriage of Philip and Mary in that year,
and were not seen again in this country until 360 years later. They
subsequently figured in all the great functions of the Spanish Court,
and it was due to the Emperor’s fear that constant usage would injure
the fabrics that a duplicate set, but on a smaller scale, was woven. The
twelve pieces were again reproduced, on the same scale as the original
frames, in 1740 by order of Philip V. A third copy is preserved in the
Museum at Vienna, and a fourth, woven by Pannemaker, was found by the
Maréchal de Contades in a castle near Mecklin during the Seven Years
War.
This collection of Spanish Royal Tapestries has been steadily
accumulating since the thirteenth century, but the practice of weaving
was not introduced into Spain until the first quarter of the seventeenth
century when a little colony of Flemish weavers, subsidised by the King
of Spain, settled at Pastrau in New Castile. A century later, at the
invitation of Philip V., Jacques Van Der Goten and his four sons,
established themselves in an _atalier_ in Madrid, and in 1776 Goya drew
the first of the forty-five designs for Tapestries which, in the
following fifteen years, were woven in the Royal workshops of Santa
Barbara in Madrid.
Although this wonderful collection has been added to by successive
Spanish sovereigns over a period of six centuries, no effort was made to
arrange, classify, or catalogue the fabrics until the work was put in
hand at the instigation of Alfonso XII., and carried to completion by
the late Queen Isabella. In 1903 an album of photographic reproductions
of many of the finest specimens was published with historical and
descriptive notes by Count Valencia de Don Juan, and this remained the
only volume on the subject until 1914, when I prepared an illustrated
handbook of the Tunis Series which, by gracious permission of King
Alfonso, were displayed at the Anglo-Spanish Exhibition in London. The
present book is the first attempt that has been made to present in
English a record of the most valuable and interesting examples in the
Royal Collection.
ALBERT. F. CALVERT.
“ROYSTON,”
ETON AVENUE,
LONDON.
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
I. HISTORY OF THE ART OF TAPESTRY WEAVING 1
II. THE FOUNDATION OF THE SPANISH ROYAL COLLECTION 14
III. THE GOTHIC TAPESTRIES--SACRED PIECES 18
IV. TAPESTRIES OF THE GOTHIC-RENAISSANCE TRANSITION 24
V. RENAISSANCE TAPESTRIES 55
ILLUSTRATIONS
SUBJECT PLATE
THE STORY OF THE VIRGIN. CARTOONS BY VAN EYCK.
1. Jesus with His Mother 1
2. The Virgin praying 2
3. The Adoration of the Magi 3
4. The presentation of Jesus in the Temple 4
THE STORY OF DAVID AND BATHSHEBA.
1. David sees Bathsheba 5
2. Bathsheba consents to the love of David 6
3. Nathan reproaches David with his sin 7
THE STORY OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST.
1. Zacharius recovering his speech 8
2. The child John devotes himself to God 9
3. St. John preaching in the wilderness 10
4. The baptism of our Lord 11
THE PASSION OF OUR LORD. CARTOON BY VAN DE WEYDEN.
In the garden of Olives 12
The Crucifixion 13
The descent from the Cross 14
VICES AND VIRTUES.
1. God rewards worship 15
2. Virtue punishes vice 16
3. Fortune distributes roses 17
4. God rewards those who are devout 18
5. Virtue rewards her votaries 19
6. God distributes honours 20
7. Prudence is commended 21
8. The faithful gain renown 22
9. Infamy is punished 23
10. The law giver delivers judgment 24
THE FOUNDATIONS OF ROME.
1. Romulus and Remus are found 25
2. Remus taken captive 26
3. Romulus becomes King 27
4. Romulus dictates the laws 28
5. Romulus institutes the Feast of Neptune 29
6. Romulus gives the laws to the people 30
7. Hersilia is presented to Romulus 31
CONQUEST OF TUNIS. CARTOONS BY VERMEYEN.
Plan of the campaign 32
Review of the Army 33
Review of the Army (part of) 34
Disembarkation at Goletta 35
The attack on Goletta 36
Fight under Goletta 37
The sortie from Goletta 38
The capture of Goletta 39
The capture of Tunis 40
The sacking of Tunis 41
The re-embarkation at Goletta 42
The Army camping at Pada 43
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM.
1. Three Angels announce to Abraham that Sarah
will have a son 44
2. Abraham offering sacrifice 45
SCENES FROM THE REVELATIONS.
1. The Angel throws the beast into the Abyss 46
2. The three horsemen 47
3. St. John and the seven churches of Asia 48
4. St. John and the Temple of God 49
5. Condemnation of the prostitute 50
6. The Angel carrying the Gospel 51
7. The crowd adore the lamb 52
8. The four Angels of Euphrates 53
9. Combat between good and evil spirits 54
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS.
1. Luxury 55
2. Greediness 56
3. Envy 57
4. Anger 58
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. CARTOONS BY RAPHAEL.
1. The miraculous draught of fishes 59
2. The miraculous draught of fishes 60
3. The miracle of the paralytic 61
4. The death of Ananias 62
5. The martyrdom of St. Stephen 63
6. The martyrdom of St. Stephen 64
7. The conversion of St. Paul 65
8. The blindness of Elymas 66
9. St Paul at Lystria 67
10. St. Paul in the Temple 68
11. St. Paul at Ephesus 69
12. St. Paul at Ephesus 70
13. St. Paul preaching in Athens 71
14. Christ appears to His Disciples 72
15. Christ choosing St. Peter 73
16. The paralytic 74
17. Death of Ananias 75
18. Conversion of St. Paul 76
19. The blind man Elymas 77
20. St. Paul and St. Barnabas at Lystria 78
THE STORY OF VERTUMNUS AND POMONA.
1. Vertumnus transformed into a husbandman 79
2. Vertumnus takes a fishing rod 80
3. Vertumnus transformed into an agriculturist 81
4. Vertumnus transferred into a gardener 82
5. Vertumnus transformed into a reaper 83
6. Vertumnus at the harvest 84
7. Pomona upbraids Vertumnus 85
8. Vertumnus disguised kisses Pomona 86
9. Vertumnus regains his natural form 87
THE STORY OF SCIPIO AFRICANUS.
1. The capture of Carthage 88
2. Scipio saves his father 89
3. Carthage sends Ambassadors 90
4. The triumph of Scipio 91
5. The banquet 92
6. Scipio gives up his betrothed 93
7. Scipio gives up his betrothed (section) 94
8. Scipio delivers judgment 95
9. The triumph 96
10. Scipio and Hannibal 97
11. The triumph of Scipio 98
THE STORY OF CYRUS.
1. Cyrus takes Astyage prisoner 99
2. Cyrus is recognised by Astyage 100
3. Meeting of Cyrus and the Queen 101
4. Cyrus sends a messenger 102
5. Cyrus unites the Medes and Persians 103
6. Cyrus saves Croesus from the Stake 104
7. The Queen and Cyrus 105
8. Cyrus takes Croesus prisoner 106
9. Cyrus and the Lydians 107
10. Cyrus releases the Hebrews 108
11. Cyrus is entrusted to a Shepherd 109
12. Hystaspe and Amenophis 110
THE STORY OF DIANA.
1. Birth of Diana 111
2. Diana resting 112
3. Diana and Jupiter 113
THE SPHERES.
1. Hercules supports the sky 114
2. Atlas supports the world 115
THE STORY OF DECIUS.
1. Decius raises his country 116
2. Decius sends lictors to Manlius 117
3. Decius bids farewell to the lictors 118
4. Decius departs to fight the Latins 119
5. Decius dedicates himself to the Legions 120
6. Valerius and Decius 121
7. The vision of Decius 122
8. Death of Decius 123
9. Funeral of Decius 124
THE STORY OF VENUS.
1. Offerings to Venus 125
2. The challenge of Cupid and Venus 126
STORY OF THE CREATION OF MAN.
1. God creates man 127
2. Cain kills his brother Abel 128
3. God curses Cain 129
4. The tree of good and evil 130
THE STORY OF TOBIAS.
1. Sarah marries Tobias 131
2. The return of Tobias and Sarah 132
THE SEASONS.
1. Summer 133
2. Winter 134
THE STORY OF SOLOMON.
1. Solomon is annointed King 135
2. Solomon marries an Egyptian Princess 136
3. Solomon and the Queen of Sheba 137
HISTORY OF A MAN’S LIFE.
1. Divinity advocates Temperance to Man 138
2. The Vices repulse Temperance 139
3. Time surrounds him with Prudence 140
4. Virtue triumphant 141
5. Patience humiliates Fortune 142
6. Fortune fights avarice 143
7. Blind Fortune bestows good and evil 144
8. Two ancient philosophers 145
9. Divinity reveals Temperance 146
10. Vice repulses Temperance 147
STORY OF ANTHONY AND CLEOPATRA.
1. Anthony leaves Rome 148
2. Anthony receives homage 149
3. Anthony disposes of Egypt’s treasures 150
4. Cleopatra mocks Anthony’s weakness 151
THE STORY OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
1. Alexander and his Doctor Philip 152
2. The battle of Issus 153
3. The siege of Tyre 154
4. Alexander in Carmonia 155
5. Surrender of the Kings of Cyprus and Phœnicia 156
6. Alexander in Asia Minor 157
THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE 158
THE TRIUMPH OF DEATH 159
THE TRIUMPH OF CHASTITY 160
THE STORY OF TOLEMACHUS.
1. The young Tolemachus 161
2. Neptune wrecking Ulysses’ ship 162
THE STORY OF PAUL.
1. St. Paul in the Temple 163
2. St. Paul before Agrippa 164
3. St. Paul executed at Rome 165
TEMPTATION OF ST. ANTHONY.
1. St. Anthony departs for the Retreat 166
2. St. Anthony tempted by the Devil 167
3. Paradise, Purgatory and Hell 168
STORY OF THE EMPEROR OCTAVIUS.
1. Julius Cæsar adopts Octavius 169
2. The battle of Phillippi 170
3. Octavius closes the Temple of War 171
4. Death of Cleopatra 172
THE STORY OF MOSES.
1. Moses and Aaron before Pharoah 173
2. God chooses Moses to deliver Israel 174
3. Moses comes from Mt. Sinai 175
BATTLES OF THE ARCHDUKE ALBERT.
1. Surrender of Hulst 176
2. Ardres surprised by a night attack 177
3. Hulst besieged 178
4. Taking of Calais 179
5. The return of the garrison 180
THE STORY OF THESEUS.
1. Theseus leaves for Crete 181
2. Theseus receives the sword of Ægeus 182
3. Ægeus recognises his son 183
4. Theseus armed with the Mace 184
5. Bacchus marries Ariadne 185
6. Theseus receives the ring of Minos 186
7. Theseus leads the bull of Marathon 187
8. Theseus and the head of Minotaurus 188
THE FUNERAL OF KING TURMUS 189
DIDO AND THE PORTRAIT OF ÆNEAS 190
THE STORY OF SAMPSON.
1. Sampson propounds his riddle 191
2. Sampson is betrayed by Delilah 192
THE STORY OF NOAH.
1. Noah building the Ark 193
2. Noah leaving the Ark 194
THE WAY OF HONOUR.
1. Grace accords immortal crowns 195
2. Virtue accords honour 196
3. Merit receives reward 197
STORY OF ZENOBIA.
1. Nuptial banquet of Zenobia and Odenat 198
2. Zenobia is taken prisoner 199
3. Zenobia led captive 200
STORY OF DON QUIXOTE.
1. Departure of Don Quixote 201
2. Don Quixote and the three Peasant Women 202
3. Princess Micomicona 203
4. Don Quixote is beaten by the Merchants 204
5. Don Quixote is enclosed in a cage 205
6. The Muleteer meets Don Quixote 206
7. Sancho marches to Toboso 207
8. Repetitions of preceding pictures 208
STORY OF PHAETON.
1. Phœbus allows Phaeton to drive the chariot of
the sun 209
2. Phaeton drives the chariot of the sun 210
3. Jupiter confounds Phaeton 211
4. The body of Phaeton is recovered 212
CHASTITY PUTS CUPID TO FLIGHT 213
RUSTIC SCENES AFTER GOYA AND BAYEU 214
PANELS AFTER GOYA 215
QUARREL IN AN INN, AFTER GOYA 216
PANELS AFTER TENIERS 217
PANELS AFTER TENIERS 218
PANELS AFTER TENIERS 219
VILLAGE DANCE AFTER TENIERS 220
PANELS AFTER TENIERS 221
DESCENT FROM THE CROSS 222
CHRIST ON THE CROSS 223
THE CRUCIFIXION, BY VAN DER WEYDEN 224
OUR LORD APPEARING TO THE HOLY WOMEN 225
ST. JEROME IN THE DESERT 226
THE ETERNAL FATHER 227
OUR LORD AND ST. VERONICA 228
MARY ANNOINTING THE FEET OF THE SAVIOUR 229
THE CONFUSION OF TONGUES 230
THE LAST SUPPER 231
THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI 232
NEOPTOLEMY SACRIFICES POLYZEMA 233
TIME AND TEMPERANCE RESTRAIN CUPID 234
ULYSSES ACCEPTS THE PRESENTS OF ALCINOUS 235
PENELOPE RECOGNISES ULYSSES 236
COURTIERS PRESENTING THEMSELVES BEFORE A KING 237
CHILDREN PLAYING--XVITH CENTURY 238
DEATH OF CLEOPATRA 239
PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN 240
CALCHAS OF AGAMEMNON 241
A GROVE 242
ON THE BANKS OF A RIVER 243
PRINCE BALTAZAR CARLOS 244
ALLEGORY OF THE TIBER AND ROME 245
IMPERIAL FUNERAL BED OF STATE 246
ROYAL ARMS OF PHILIP V. 247
PANELS 248
A FRIEZE 249
BORDERS OF TAPESTRIES 250
THE PASSION OF OUR LORD 251
DEATH OF ABSALOM 252
THE BIRTH OF CHRIST 253
DESCENT FROM THE CROSS 254
ST. GREGORY’S MASS 255
TRIUMPH OF JOSEPH 256
KING CHARLES III. 257
QUEEN AMELIA AND SAXONY 258
MYTHOLOGICAL SUBJECT 259
AFTER THE VICTORY 260
THE TEMPLE 261
THE COLONNADE 262
THE PALACE 263
FRAGMENTS 264
PANELS 265
PANELS AFTER ANDRES DE AGUIRRE 266
PANELS AFTER TENIERS 267
FRAGMENTS AFTER TENIERS 268
FRAGMENTS AFTER TENIERS 269
PANELS AFTER TENIERS 270
FRAGMENTS AFTER TENIERS 271
FRAGMENTS AFTER TENIERS 272
CHILDREN PLAYING, AFTER GOYA 273
PANELS AFTER GOYA 274
PANELS AFTER GOYA AND BAYEU 275
PANELS AFTER GOYA AND BAYEU 276
CORIOLANUS AND HIS MOTHER 277
THE SPANISH ROYAL TAPESTRIES
CHAPTER I
HISTORY OF THE ART OF TAPESTRY WEAVING
The term tapestry is often applied to any hangings of mediæval
workmanship whether woven on a frame or not. This use of the word is
incorrect. Tapestry is a fabric woven with coloured wools on to warp
threads in a loom or frame, in which the weft completely conceals the
warp. It is woven all in one piece. This distinguishes it from
embroidery or other needlework to which stitches are added after the
groundwork of the fabric has been detached from the frame. The worker
weaves directly from a design or cartoon which is supplied to him.
Tapestry frames are of two kinds. In the first the warp threads are
arranged in a perpendicular frame, and the weaver sits before his work.
This is known as high-warp (_haute lisse_) weaving, and is the method
in use at the celebrated manufactory at Gobelins in France. In the other
method the warp threads are stretched horizontally, and the weaver must
bend over his work. This is known as low-warp (_basse lisse_) weaving,
and is the process followed at Beauvais. On the whole the high warp
weaving gives a fabric of firmer and finer texture.
The rest of the process is precisely similar. The weft threads of
different colours, each attached to a separate bobbin or shuttle, are
passed alternately behind and in front of the warp threads, leaving a
little dot of colour behind. The second thread will, of course, take up
the warp thread the first has passed over, and pass in front of that
which the first one has passed behind. The two threads are then pushed
together with a comb until they fall into one straight line. The warp is
now completely concealed.
Tapestry weaving is an art that stands alone. Like furniture, tapestry
was of utilitarian origin, and cannot, therefore, be judged by the
standards applied to painting and the purely decorative arts. As
originally used in ancient buildings, it was hung some feet from the
walls to serve as a draught screen, or was suspended between pillars to
shut off one apartment from another. It was generally hung, therefore,
in undulating folds, the stiff panels and upholsteries of later
workmanship being a spurious growth.
The decorative value of such hangings was, of course, seized on at once
by the wealthy, who alone could afford them, and from the earliest times
tapestries became things of beauty. But in estimating their artistic
value we have to remember their original use. A tapestry curtain woven
with a symmetrical central design would appear quite distorted when
pushed aside by some one entering a room. Central unity, therefore, the
great merit of painting, is in tapestry artistically bad. The designs
that are most suitable are duplicated or repeated designs, with a
crowded background. These will secure a certain uniformity in the
suspended fabric. For this reason, therefore, such panels as Raphael’s
_Acts of the Apostles_, though fine specimens of pictorial art, are, as
tapestries, artistically faulty, beautiful though they are when
considered merely as works of art.
Its first utilitarian purpose being fulfilled, tapestry becomes a
decorative art designed only to please and rest the eye. Tragic
subjects, therefore, such as the _Descent from the Cross_ and the
_Passion of Our Lord_, are unsuitable, though they constantly tempted
the mediæval _tapissier_. Much finer are those works that depict
stirring historical scenes, the _Triumphs of Cæsar_ or the _Conquest of
Tunis_, or those which deal with light mythological subjects with their
pleasantly crowded backgrounds of fruit, flowers, and cupids. Dull and
sombre colourings are also bad. The richest dyes, enriched with metallic
threads of gold and silver, should glow against the background of the
cold stone pillars. All these æsthetic rules, however, were constantly
violated by the mediæval artificers, who could not rid themselves of the
idea that art in any form should be didactic, and subserve the purposes
of the Church and morality.
Tapestry weaving is certainly one of the most ancient of all the arts.
Fragments have been left behind by all the early civilizations to bear
witness to their skill. The art was practised by the early Egyptians,
the Babylonians, Chinese, and Peruvians, while the Greeks and Romans
brought it to a high state of perfection. It is noticeable that from the
very beginning the texture of the fabric has scarcely altered, while the
modern tapestry looms are but the natural development of the primitive
frames used by the ancient Egyptians.
The earliest specimen of weaving that has been discovered was found in
one of the Swiss lake dwellings, and can only be a relic of the later
Stone Age. Fragments somewhat similar have come to light in stone
coffins found in Yorkshire, while at Thornton, near Kolding, in Jutland,
whole costumes have been discovered that must have belonged to the Age
of Bronze.
The first historic references to the art come to us from early Egypt.
Here the weavers were probably women. The Beni Hassan wall-paintings,
which date from about 1600 B.C., depict weavers squatting at horizontal
low-warp frames. There are three fragments of this early tapestry
preserved in the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities at Cairo. Their
uniformly fine workmanship proves that the weaving of tapestries had
been carried to a high degree of excellence in the reign of Thothmes
III. The texture of the fabric is very fine, and the pattern is
identical on both sides. Some elasticity of pattern has been achieved by
the occasional slackening of warp threads. This points to a loom where
the threads were weighted, but not fastened to a cylinder.
A Greek vase found at Chiusi shows Penelope weaving at a high-warp frame
while she holds her suitors at bay. This belongs to the fifth century
B.C., and the loom depicted is very like those used in Scandinavian
countries.
Catullus speaks of tapestries that showed the adventures of Theseus and
Ariadne. The figures of Britons were constantly being reproduced in
Roman tapestries. In Rome there were organized societies of weavers
known as _collegii opificum_. The fabrics that have been preserved are
woven in coloured woollens and linen threads. They show a wealth of
floral and leaf adornment, and figures of ducks and fishes. One shows a
child riding a white horse; another portrays Hermes with his caduceus.
These date from the second or third centuries A.D.
The growth of Christianity, and the breaking up of Roman civilization,
drove the art of tapestry weaving into monasteries and convents, or to
the royal courts. It was not until the eleventh century that
associations of free craftsmen--as against the early organizations of
slaves--began to be formed in different countries. The movement started
in England, Flanders, and Brabant, and afterwards spread to France,
where this particular form of art was to find so congenial a home.
The Golden Age of mediæval tapestry opened, however, in the thirteenth
century when Raphael began his cartoons. This introduction of realism,
the widening of the whole artistic range, was rendered more feasible by
the discovery of new dyes which added richer and more glowing tints to
the fabrics. The borders, which had previously been simple, grew wider
and more elaborate in design. From this ever-increasing elaboration of
the borders, indeed, it is often possible to fix the date of an
otherwise dubious specimen.
In the following century Arras became the centre of the industry. So
closely was the tapestry associated with its place of manufacture that
in England the name of the town became synonymous for the name of the
fabric, and the arras became a recognized decoration of luxurious rooms.
From early times there are references in Spanish inventories to _pan de
raz_. This supremacy remained unchallenged until the fifteenth century
when Brussels and Bruges achieved fame as tapestry centres. In the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the industry took root at
Middleburg, Delft, and Paris, and Mortlake in England became a famous
centre in the seventeenth century.
It was not until the late seventeenth century that tapestry weaving
really became established in Spain. Before that the Spanish kings and
nobles had been content to acquire masterpieces of foreign workmanship,
chiefly from the Low Countries. There are, however, traces of a feeble
industry to be found as far back as the late fourteenth century when one
man seems to have followed the craft of _tapissier_ in Catalonia. It is
possible--but not certain--that two _tapissiers_ of Navarre, who
flourished about 1411--Llucia Barthomew and Juan Noyan--may have been
Spaniards. Another Barthomew is spoken of a few years later in connexion
with two tapestries, namely, those of the _Resurrection_ and _St.
Anthony_.
A panel of Spanish tapestry, obviously intended for altar decoration,
has recently been discovered that dates from the early fifteenth
century. The centre is occupied by the figure of John the Baptist
bearing the Paschal Lamb, flanked by St. Martin of Tours in the dress of
a bishop, and by St. Hugh of Grenoble. Gold and silver threads are
employed, and the arms are shown of Martin of Aragon and of his wife,
Maria de Luna, who died in 1407. This king appears to have interested
himself in tapestries, and we read that the walls of the royal palace at
Saragossa were adorned with these costly fabrics at his coronation in
1398. King John of Aragon before him had introduced, we read in a
document dated 1388, a company of “brobadors de Brabant.”
From the fifteenth century onward the costliest tapestries were much
sought after in Spain, and magnificent displays were made on the
occasions of State banquets or royal weddings. Towards the end of the
fifteenth century a special official was appointed by the king to take
charge of the royal collection, which was already considerable. This
official, Pedro Entierrez by name, was himself a weaver. He made
strenuous efforts to develop the industry in the Spanish capital, but
apparently without much success. At any rate, a letter of his is
preserved among the records of the Spanish Academy of History, in which
he complains bitterly of the treatment meted out to himself and his
fellow-workers. He was accused by his enemies of being ambitious,
unskilled, and slow. These aspersions he proceeds very fully to refute.
He complains that his supplies of raw material were limited, and that he
was not allowed to set up his heavier instruments in Madrid.
It was not, however, until 1624 that the attempt to graft the weaving of
tapestry on to Spanish art really succeeded. In this year a small colony
of Flemish weavers settled in the little town of Pastran in New Castile,
being directly subsidized by the king. Five thousand ducats were paid to
them in the first year, and in the following year they received a
further seven thousand ducats.
Meantime the unfortunate Pedro Entierrez had found a rival in a certain
Antonio Ceron who had set up looms at Santa Isabel. Here he established
four workshops, and instructed eight apprentices in the art of weaving
tapestry. It is probably one of these ateliers that has been
immortalized by Velazquez in _Las Hilanderas_. This painting shows in
the background a tapestry of mythological inspiration, while in the
foreground women are seen unwinding skeins of wool.
For some time the poverty of the Spanish Crown held the industry in
check. But by 1720 a family of Spanish weavers from Antwerp, consisting
of one Jacques Van der Goten and his four sons, came over on the
invitation of Philip V and established an atelier in Madrid, where
tapestry was produced on low-warp frames. A few years later high-warp
looms were introduced from France, and the industry spread to Seville.
Some famous pieces were wrought in Spain at this time. Jacques Van der
Goten produced the _Virgin with the Pearl_ from a cartoon by Raphael,
while the famous series representing the _Conquest of Tunis_, and the
_History of Telemachus_, were reproduced by a well-known weaver called
Andrea Procaccini. Cartoons were also designed by Procaccini for a
“History of Don Quixote,” which have been constantly reproduced in
tapestry.
The fashion changed, and for a time the demand was all for Dutch
tapestries. Van der Goten set his workmen to copy the cartoons of
Solimena Teniers and the other Dutch cartoonists. But at the same time
original designs were not neglected, and by the end of the eighteenth
century the industry had become quite considerable, employing
permanently no less than fifteen workmen. The last of the Van der Goten
brothers died in 1786, and the direction of the Santa Barbara atelier
passed to a nephew.
The culmination of the prosperity of the Spanish _tapissiers_ was marked
by the execution of the celebrated Goya tapestries. These cartoons, to
the number of forty-five, were designed for the decoration of the
apartments of the Prince of Asturias in the Prado. Some of them,
however, are to be found on the walls of the Escorial, and many,
unhappily, have been lost. Goya brought to his task his own peculiar
talents. Hitherto the designers of cartoons had been content to find
their inspiration in ancient Bible stories or in the myths of Greece or
Rome. They had depicted incidents from the life of Christ and the
Virgin Mary; they had painted moralities, virtues, and vices. Goya did
none of these things. When he was summoned from Rome to Madrid by
Raphael Mengs, then the director of the workrooms of the Spanish
capital, he decided to portray in tapestry the actual life of the people
around him. In place of the stilted, conventional figures of his
predecessors he produced cartoons instinct with life and vivid movement.
The enthralling realism of the bull-fight, village fairs and festivals,
the romantic loves of Andalusian peasants, the popular excitement of
kite-flying--these were the subjects treated by this most realistic of
artists.
Goya achieved an immediate success. Time after time his cartoons were
reproduced by the Spanish weavers. The King, pleased at the distinction
with which the artist invested his Court, spent enormous sums upon
tapestries, and encouraged his household to do the same. In the four
years from 1776 to 1780 the sum of 817,956 _reales_ was expended at the
Court on the purchase of tapestries and cartoons. Other well-known
artists contributed cartoons to the Madrid workshops, among whom we find
the names of Van Loo, Conrado, Giaquinto, Mengs, Jose de Castillo,
Antonio Gonzalez, Mariano Nani, Andres Gines, Antonio Barbaza, and Jose
de Salas.
The French invasion caused the closing down of the workshops of Santa
Barbara in 1808. Some years later they were reopened by the son of St.
Ferdinand’s weaver, and once again beautiful fabrics were woven from the
designs of Goya. The death of Ferdinand VII in 1833 gave a severe blow
to the industry, but there are still looms in Santa Barbara where
exquisite tapestries are executed under the direction of a descendant of
Jacques Van der Goten.