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Grotesques

These ornamental designs, inspired by ancient Roman wall decorations, had an important impact on tapestry design in the 16th and again in the 17th and 18th centuries.  Though the designs originated in Italy they quickly spread to other European centres.  Artists such as Raphael (1483 – 1520) and Giovanni da Udine (1487 – 1564) adapted the scrolling arabesques into elaborate wall treatments.  The designs were quickly absorbed into the designs of tapestry borders and also the tapestries themselves - in Italy and in the Southern Netherlands, most famously the designs by Perino del Vaga (1501 – 1547) for Admiral Andrea Doria of Genoa (1466 – 1560).   These were revived, along with other Renaissance designs in the later years of the 17th century - in France, most notably at the Beauvais workshops, where the tobacco ground Grotesques de Berain tapestries were among the most successful series created. At the same time in Oudenaarde, Michel Wauters (d.1679) revived 16th century grotesques designs; the best known set survives at Kronborg Castle, Denmark.

Mars

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Rare Grotesques Tapestry
Antwerp, 17th Century
8ft 5in width x 9ft 11in height
2.57m x 3.02m

  • Minerva

    Minerva

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    From a Set of Doria Grotesques Tapestries
    Designed by Perino del Vaga (ca.1501 – 1547)
    for Palazzo Doria, at Fassolo
    Brussels, Second Quarter 16th Century
    13ft 6in width x 11ft 6in height
    4.11m x 3.51m

  • "Berainesque" Entre-fenêtre Tapestry

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    From the series Grotesques de Berain
    After designs by Jean Baptiste Monnoyer (1636 – 1699)
    Beauvais, 18th Century
    3ft 6in width x 10ft 3in height
    1.07m x 3.12m

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