Description

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The subject of this book is tapestry, with a particular focus on the function and use of hangings, and on the eventuality or necessity of owning them in the modern world. It is thus viewed from an angle warranted by an inquiry into the determination of the object. The relationship of that object to the place for which it was intended or in which it is used is a crucial point, for, by its very nature, tapestry can be easily moved and can take on a new meaning in a different setting. This apparent truism is rendered complex by the specific characteristics of tapestry, which places any analysis in the dual perspective of furnishings on the one hand and of large-scale architectural decor on the other and touches at the same time on the sociology of art and its reception. The point of departure for this study is the celebrated Barberini family, which assumed a prominent position within Roman nobility by virtue of the authority of Urban VIII, who was elected Pope in 1623. Patrons of the Arts and Letters, the Pope and his nephews, Cardinals Francesco and Antonio Barberini, as well as Prince Taddeo, brought together more than nine hundred tapestries to adorn their sumptuous palaces and to decorate churches for ceremonial occasions. The sources drawn on consist of a vast ensemble of archival documents (inventories, records of payments and correspondence) from the Vatican Library. The first two parts deal with the problem of individual taste for a given type of object, tapestry in the present case. They pay particular attention to the manifestations of the Barberinis interest in it, to their admiration for such and such a hanging, and to their private commissions. They inquire into the significance of the foundation of the family tapestry works by Cardinal Francesco Barberini. The third part is based on a discussion of the daily use of the tapestries in palaces, but also of occasional use for events on festive or ceremonial occasions outside, in the streets of the city, or in churches. This part in fact attempts to answer the question as to the way in which, in a hierarchical and codified society, an interest in a given art form can be expressed in interior decoration in a way that allows awareness of its specific characteristics. The fourth part is concerned with the notion of patrician collection and the dispersion of the latter. Nearly two-thirds of the extant tapestries have been localized in the United States, in the museums of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Flint, Minneapolis, San Francisco, etc., Charles M. Ffoulke, a Washington collector, having bought an important lot from the Barberini family in 1889. The fifth and last part analyses the process of tapestry-making, with special emphasis on the drawing up of models and cartoon. Urban VIII and Francesco Barberini were particularly attentive to the quality of the design and of the weaving itself, carried out in the most famous workshops of Brussels, Paris and Rome. It has thus been possible to reconstitute the elements of an aspect of the Barberini taste on the basis of a study of their tapestries.