[Sidenote:
_Wool and Silk._
H. 7 _ft._ 10 _in._
W. 13 _ft._ 4 _in._
]
VERDURE: _A formal garden with fountains and a château in the distance and
various birds in the foreground._
[Sidenote: Lent by _Mrs. C. Templeton Crocker_.]
Such landscape tapestries were a characteristic late Renaissance
interpretation of the verdure type, a transition between the Gothic
_millefleurs_, that were really originally landscapes without perspective
(cf. No. 11), and the XVIIth-century verdures (cf. No. 43). It is a very
successful form of verdure, for they are broadly effective from a distance
and yet have a sufficient wealth of detail to yield interest on closer
exploration. The birds in this piece are especially carefully observed and
well drawn, and the purity and vivacity of the color is exceptional for
this type.
[Sidenote: 42]