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The Divine Art:
Four Centuries of European Tapestries

Susan Weinrebe
January 4, 2009

The final day of the towering exhibit, The Divine Art: Four Centuries of European Tapestries, gave me three score and ten more reasons to declare an art-related resolution for 2009. Too often, I’ve waited until the last moment to see an exhibit only to find that it’s come and gone and I’ve missed out.

Squeaking into the Art Institute on the last day of the exhibit to take in seventy massive tapestries spanning 400 years of weaving, my mistake in waiting so long to see the show was immediately clear. The tapestries, restored painstakingly in a conservatorial act of dedication and long-range planning over thirteen years, were so numerous and massive as to be incomprehensible in just one visit.

Immense depictions of mythology, history and religion, the tapestries are art, using the medium of woven fibers, including precious metals. Churches and the nobility commissioned suites of tapestries, such as the fourteen piece Story of Caesar and Cleopatra, to depict narratives and display wealth. There are two essential ways to look at this art.

Peering at a one-inch square of fabric from two feet away, the weaving and subtle coloration, accomplished completely with animal and vegetable dyes, are staggering. It’s necessary to keep reminding oneself that the detailing was executed on a loom, not picked out one stitch at a time with needle and thread. One must step clear back across the room to actually see the “big picture” and begin to comprehend how the minutia of each part formed the whole. Tracy Chevalier’s “The Lady and the Unicorn”, which centers around the intricacies and techniques of creating such tapestries, is one way to ground an understanding of the entire weaving process.

Seeing Four Centuries of European Tapestries in a couple of hours was like touring Europe in a week. I could say I’d been, but had I really seen? If you are a person who supports the arts with subscriptions or memberships, why not get the most out of them? Go early. Stay late. Or, stay just a little while, and return often to deepen your relationship with a particular exhibit or artist.

The Art Institute, recently having undergone extensive cosmetic enhancement, is a finer, brighter place to be than ever before. New Impressionist galleries regroup the famous core collection. Indian, Southeast Asian, Himalayan and Islamic art is laid out in crisp display, with traffic flow that encourages languorous passage through the Alsdorf Gallery. Among all else, families can enjoy the Touch Gallery and BIGsmall exhibit as well as the inspiring art created by children extrapolating such pieces as Nighthawks and Cornell boxes.

Exhibits soon to appear include the photographs of Yousuf Karsh and the art of Edvard Munch. Resolve to give yourself the gift of art, especially in February, when admission is waived.

France, Aubusson. "The Fall of Phaeton", after 1776.
After a design by an unknown artist based on an etching by Antonio Tempesta (1555-1630),
Phaetontis Casus (The Fall of Phaeton) from Ovid's Metamorphoses.
Possibly produced at the workshop of Gabriel Babonneix (born 1756?)
at the Manufacture Royale d'Aubusson.
Wool and silk, slit and double interlocking tapestry weave
351.2 x 286.3 cm (138 ¼ x 112 ¾ in.).
Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.

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Flanders, Brussels. "Cleopatra and Antony Enjoying Supper", c. 1680.
After a design by Justus van Egmont (1601-1674).
Produced at the workshop of Gerard Peemans (1637/39-1725).
Marked and signed: Brussels city mark; G I PEEMANS.
Inscribed: CLEOPATRA CVM / ANTHONIO MENSE / ASSIDET
Cleopatra and Antony enjoying supper) Wool and silk,
slit and double interlocking tapestry weave
321.9 x 362.0 cm (126 ¾ x 142 5/8 in.).
Gift of Mrs. Chauncey McCormick and Mrs. Richard Ely Danielson.
Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.

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France, Beauvais. "The Emperor Sailing" from "The Story of the Emperor of China", 1716/22.
After a design by Guy-Louis Vernansal (1648-1729).
Produced at the Manufacture Royale de Beauvais
under the direction of Pierre and Etienne Filleul (co-directors 1711-22).
Wool, silk, and gilt- and silvered-metal-strip-wrapped silk;
silt and double interlocking tapestry weave with some areas of 2:2 plain interlacing
of gilt- and silvered-metal wefts 385.8 x 355 cm (151 ¾ x 139 ¾ in.).
Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Worcester Fund.
Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.

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For more information, contact Dr. Roberta E. Zlokower at zlokower@bestweb.net