&w=3840&q=75)
&w=3840&q=75)
&w=3840&q=75)
&w=3840&q=75)
&w=3840&q=75)
&w=3840&q=75)
&w=3840&q=75)
&w=3840&q=75)
VALÉRIE
Valérie, tirée de la tenture des Femmes illustres de l'Antiquité (cartons d’Isaac Moillon (1614-1673))
Fees include commission and taxes.
Valérie, tirée de la tenture des Femmes illustres de l'Antiquité (cartons d’Isaac Moillon (1614-1673))
A rare, large polychrome wool tapestry depicting Valérie holding the reins of a fleeing horseman’s horse, based on a cartoon by Isaac Moillon (1614–1673), for the series “Illustrious Women of Antiquity”.
Aubusson, late 17th century, early 18th century.
Height: 280 cm – Width: 465 cm.
Lined.
(Normal wear and tear and restoration).
N. de Reniès, S. Laveissière, Isaac Moillon: 1614–1673: a painter to the king in Aubusson: [exhibition, Aubusson, Musée départemental de la tapisserie, 11 June–12 September 2005], Paris: Somogy éd. d'art, pp. 288–289. Two tapestries of the same design, listed under references X.3b and X.3a.
A little-known female figure in Roman history, the choice of Valérie—Clelia’s companion held hostage during the war between the young Republic and the Etruscans—demonstrates Moillon’s affinity for ancient culture. The deliberate choice to depict the heroines of antiquity and their virtues was part of a wider trend for this theme from the 1630s onwards in literature, through the Précieuses movement, which was taken up in the following decades in the fields of painting, engraving and tapestry.
The series to which our subject belongs was highly successful, and a few similar examples survive today, including a version held at the Château d’Ansouis in the Vaucluse. Several variations on the subject were also offered at auction on 5 December 1924 at the Galerie Georges Petit (lot no. 127), as well as at the Hôtel Drouot on 18 and 19 April 1988 (lot no. 157) and on 29 March 1993 (lot no. 263).