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A New Method of Interpreting the Valois Tapestries, Through a History of Catherine De Médicis Pascal-François Bertrand

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A New Method of Interpreting the Valois Tapestries, Through a History of Catherine De Médicis Pascal-François Bertrand University of Rhode Island Masthead Logo DigitalCommons@URI Art and Art History Faculty Publications Art and Art History 2006 A New Method of Interpreting the Valois Tapestries, through a History of Catherine de Médicis Pascal-François Bertrand Pamela J. Warner University of Rhode Island, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/art_facpubs Part of the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Terms of Use All rights reserved under copyright. Citation/Publisher Attribution Bertrand, Pascal-François. "A New Method of Interpreting the Valois Tapestries, through a History of Catherine de Médicis." Translated by Pamela J. Warner. Studies in the Decorative Arts 14 (2006): 27-52. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/studdecoarts.14.1.40663287 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Art and Art History at DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Art and Art History Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A New Methodof Interpretingthe Valois PASCAL-FRANÇOISBERTRAND Tapestries,through a Historyof Catherine de Médicis In 1959, FrancesA. Yates publishedthe resultsof her researchon the Valois tapestries,made in Brusselstoward the end of the sixteenth centuryand todayheld in Florence.This prestigiousensemble comprises eight large pieces featuringfine workmanshipand brightand lively colors,enhanced with gold and silver.1According to the Englishhisto- rian,William of Orange had thetapestries executed at themoment when Francois -Hercule d'Alençon-d Anjou, thelast son ofCatherine de Médi- cis and HenriII ofFrance (of theValois dynasty),overturned the power ofPhilip II ofSpain in Holland,took the title of the duc de Brabant,and made his entryinto Antwerp (1582). Yates assertedthat William then had the tapestriesdelivered to the queen motherby Dutch ambassadors whowere eager to renewtheir alliance with her third son, King Henri III. Yates'sstudy, regarded as thedefinitive work on thisset ofhangings, is a good exampleof an impressiveintellectual scaffolding resting on the mostfragile of hypotheses, which have been transformedsince their first writinginto certitudes. Objections expressed by Jean Coural (1972), Roy Strong(1973), and Léon de Groër (1989), amongothers, have done littleto weakenthis study's authority.2 Coural observeda fundamentalflaw in Yates's proposal,which claimsthat the serieswas woven in Antwerp,whereas the markof the cityof Brusselsis affixedto the edge of six of the eightpieces, and two of the unidentifiedweavers' monograms can also be seen there.3Strong remarkedthat the tapestries' originality lay in thepresence of identifiable portraitsin theirforegrounds, interpreted until then as simpleinterme- diariesbetween the festivalscenes represented in the backgroundsand theviewer. He addedthat the tapestries could not be laterthan 1581, the date ofthe "magnificent"wedding of Anne d'Arqués,duc de Joyeuse,to Margueritede Lorraine,half-sister of the wifeof Henri III, whichwas celebratedwith the famousBallet comique de la reinepublished in 1582, because no referenceto it is made in the festivalsrepresented in the weavings.De Groërmoved the datingback even further,believing that the tapestrieswere commissioned around 1575 by the queen motheror Pascal-FrançoisBertrand is Professorof Art Historyat the UniversitéMichel de Mon- taigne,Bordeaux 3. Studiesin theDecorative Arts/F all-Winter 2006-2007 27 This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.204 on Wed, 21 Nov 2012 12:13:29 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 28 Studiesin theDecorative Arts/F all-Winter 2006-2007 > Φ"73 ör? ω Κ^ §2 fflo ο c^^- ο- S| js_| SSIS ^S£f^S1l§9 Hill líií BUJiláBá si -s ë (A fi Isli ! ^^ S d H -§ c"73 f Ï 5 1 ο s il WiJ •s i- > I -s | I Mil ι ^ ξ 2 >~ 6 1 .S -2 J tí^t !j 130 m ° ω lA ce 1 ^- ·ιϊ I Is-F I- US ■g "lOvo^Hçu .&■fi fë « -s-S §31 0J.S2 ^|δ|.ΛσΓ- Í3^^ II IIKs! -JIïî I _Jiiîïs í, mal8i|| i »ti S gII- i Sis iîfîai This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.204 on Wed, 21 Nov 2012 12:13:29 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions The ValoisTapestries and Catherinede Médias 29 bysomeone in herclose entouragebecause Catherine de Médicisappears in all ofthe tapestries except one (givenher superstitious nature and her interestin magic and astrology,to appear in all would have been inauspicious).De Groërpresented four observations in supportof this date: all of the membersof the royalfamily represented in the hanging wereliving when the tapestries were executed (none ofthe queen's dead childrenare shown);the facesof figuresrepresented in the foreground correspondto portraitsexecuted around 1575, such as thatof Louisede Vaudémont,who, in Februaryof thatyear, had just marriedHenri III;5 thecostumes reflect the fashions of the 1570s,in particularthe medium- sizedruff and the tall velvethat, decorated on the frontwith jewels and smallfeathers, worn tilted back to the rearof the head; and finally- a weightyargument - none of the figureswears the chain of the Orderof the Holy Spirit,founded by HenriIII in 1578.6 Fromthis initial overview of the critics, it seemsthat almost nothing is knownfor certain about this tapestry series, which was inventoriedin Florencein 1589 amongthe goodsbrought from France by Christine de Lorraine.It was Cecilia Lisi and Jean Ehrmannwho thoughtthey recognizedit in themention of a goldtapestry à figure, et fregio à grottesche et altro(with figures and a borderof grotesquesand more),presented by Catherinede Médiciswith two other luxurious ensembles to herfavorite granddaughter,Christine de Lorraine,perhaps on the occasion of her marriageto the grandduke of Tuscany, Ferdinand L7 While the dimen- sionsgiven in the inventorycorrespond with those of the Valois tapes- tries,the formulaused to describethe tapestryà figureis mostlaconic. Furthermore,if it is acceptedthat the seriesinventoried in 1589 is the sameas theone in Florencetoday, the description also indicatesthat the meaningof the set had been lostby the time this gift was recorded,a gift maderelatively quickly after the weavingof the ensemble(whether it is datedto 1575 or 1582-1585). There are two furtherquestions: what is the subjectof the Valois seriesand what is its meaning?In orderto respond,it is necessaryto investigatethe nature of the relationship between the motifs represented in the tapestries(the portraitsin the foregroundsand the festivalscenes in thebackgrounds), the initialfunction of the hangings, and finallythe conditionsin whichthis masterpiece was produced. The Multivalent Subject of the Tapestries It is knownhow mucha work'stitle influences perception of it and orientsits meaning. In the secondhalf of the sixteenthcentury, a work This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.204 on Wed, 21 Nov 2012 12:13:29 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 30 Studiesin theDecorative Arts/F all-Winter 2006-2007 of art could be intendedto have morethan one meaning-Since they arousedthe interestof historiansin the earlytwentieth century, the worksin Florencehave generallybeen called the "Valois tapestries,"or sometimesthe "Fêtesdes Valois."8These fairlyvague denominations, whichreflect the notionof a lost meaning,mark at the same timethe beginningof an interpretation,centered on the identityof the life-sized portraitsof the royal family in the earlyyears of Henri Ill's reign(figures representedlaterally across the foregroundof the hangings)and also on the identificationof the grandioseand costlyextravaganzas of the reign ofCharles IX representedin thebackground. (For a simplifiedgenealogy of the Valois dynasty,see p. 29.) Amongthe membersof the royalfamily, the queen mother,Cathe- rinede Medíeis,can be recognizedfirst of all, in mourning,a dwarf at her feet,in the Carrouseldes chevaliersbretons et irlandaisà Bayonne(Tour- nament)(Fig. 1; titlesin parenthesesare those used by Frances Yates). To her rightstands her daughterMarguerite de Valois and her daughter's spouse,Henri de Navarre,in profile.Catherine's daughter is also repre- sentedtwo more times in theseries. She appearswith her husband, to the leftin the Fêtenautique sur l'Adour (Whale) (Fig. 4), and there,between the two of them,stands Charles III, duc de Lorraineand widowerof Claude de Valois,second daughter of Catherine de Médicis,who died in 1575,several days before the weddingof HenriIII to Louisede Vaudé- mont.Marguerite de Valois also appearsa thirdtime, to theright in the Mascaradede ΐ éléphant(Elephant) (Fig. 5), betweenher brother François- Hercule d'Alençon and a young,unidentified man. Catherine'stwo livingsons each appeartwice. Henri III, herfavorite son, is shownalone, wearingantique costume,about to mount a horse in the Jeu de h quintaine(Quintain) (Fig. 2), and withhis wife,Louise de Vaudémont,in the rightforeground of the Attaquede l'îledevant le châteaude Fontaine- bleau(Fontainebleau) (Fig. 3). Louisede Vaudémontappears again, to the right,in theCarrousel des chevaliers bretons et irfondais à Bayonne (Fig. 1), acrossfrom the queen mother and herdaughter Marguerite, accompanied bya man and twoother women. One ofthese last figures, seen fromthe FIGURE 1 (facing page) back, was identifiedas possiblyher half-sister,Marguerite de Lorraine, Carrousel des chevaliersbretons et irlandaisà who, in 1581, marriedAnne, duc de Joyeuse,whose wedding, as cited Bayonne (Tournament). Brussels tapestry, above,was theoccasion of the
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