Renaud and Armide - Lot 27

Renaud and Armide Tapestry from the Manufacture Royale des Gobelins Part of the Metamorphoses hanging After Louis de Boulogne (1654-1733) Louis XIV period, circa 1704 H. 2.50 x W. 4.60 m H. 8ft 5 x W. 15ft 2 The tapestry is part of a Metamorphoses hanging composed of tapestries whose designs were created by different painters. The first Metamorphoses hanging was created around 1680, and new tapestries with the present subject were added from 1704. Louis de Boulogne provided the models for Renaud et Armide, Apollon et Hyacinthe, Zéphyr et Flore, Vénus et Adonis and Céphale et Procris. For details of the Metamorphoses hanging, see Vittet 2014 and Fenaille 1903-1923. Description: In a park enclosed by a series of stone arches, in front of a fountain whose water gushes from the conch held by a triton, Renaud lies on Armide's lap and looks at himself in a mirror. Six lovers animate the composition, and their presence signifies that the heroes who were enemies (Renaud, the Christian knight, and Armide, the Moorish princess and magician) have met love. Renaud and Armide are the heroes of the epic poem La Jérusalem délivrée by the 16th-century Italian poet Tasso (1544-1595), translated into French in the 17th century and set during the First Crusade; it should therefore be noted that in the Metamorphoses hanging, all the heroes are characters from Greek and Roman mythology, and that only Renaud and Armide come from later "chivalric" literature. Related tapestries: This very pretty subject was successful; Fenaille points to a number of collections that owned Metamorphoses tapestries in 1900. In particular, the King of Spain, at his château d'Epinay in France, owned a tapestry of Renaud and Armide. Materials and condition : Woven in wool and silk (warp in wool, weft in wool and silk), the tapestry is in good condition with well-preserved colors, maintenance restorations. Provenance : - Private collection Bibliographical references: - Maurice Fenaille, 1903-1923, Etat général de la Manufacture des Gobelins depuis ses origines jusqu'à nos jours (1600-1900), vol. III, pp. 121-132. - Jean Vittet, 2014, Les Gobelins au siècle des lumières, un âge d'or de la manufacture, pp. 302-305.