Christ on the Cross

From the thirteenth century onwards, Italy, northern France and Flanders were the principal centres of woven pictorial tapestry production. Alongside Arras and Brussels, Tournai was one of Europe’s oldest weaving centres and became particularly important during the fifteenth century. Tapestry designs were generally created by painters. These were enlarged to full scale and transferred onto cartoons in the weaving workshop. Following these cartoons, the compositions were painstakingly woven on looms several metres wide, according to the requirements of wealthy patrons. The coloured weft threads completely concealed the closely spaced white warp threads, creating compositions that closely resembled paintings. Tapestries were usually produced in series intended to cover the interior walls of an entire room. They did more than simply decorate a space: they told stories, conveyed messages and also provided protection against the cold radiating from the walls. The Calvary scene, composed from a low viewpoint, and the crowded groups of figures dressed in the richly ornamented, colourful garments of contemporary aristocratic society are characteristic features of Tournai workshop practice of the period.

Provenance

Ipolyi Collection

Restauration

1928 Kiss Béla, Budapest
2014 Szabó Judit, Esztergom

Bibliography

• Semsey Réka: Ipolyi Arnold textilgyűjteménye 8-9 In: Hegyi Ibolya, Schulcz Katalin (szerk.): Történeti és kortárs kárpitok Magyarországon. Esztergom, Keresztény Múzeum, 2014 (kiállítási katalógus)
• Deuxieme Triennale Internationale de Tournai Tapisseries et arts du tissu de l'autre Europe, Tournai, 1993, 225
• László Emőke: Ipolyi Arnold gobelin-gyűjteménye 153-57. 40. kép. in: Ipolyi Arnold Emlékkönyve. Halálának századik évfordulója alkalmából az Esztergomi Keresztény Múzeumban 1986. december 12-én rendezett emlékülés anyaga. Szent István Társulat, Budapest 1989.
• László Emőke: Flamand és francia kárpitok Magyarországon. Corvina. Budapest, 1980: p. 35-36, kat. sz. 1, 13. kép, I.tábla
• Magyarország műemléki topográfiája I. Esztergom 1. Esztergom műemlékei (összeállította: Genthon István; Budapest 1948). p. 189, 201.
• Dutka Mária 1936: Az esztergomi Keresztény Múzeum gobelinjei. Budapest, 1936. pp. 18-27.
• Kiss Béla és Jenő: Régi gobelinek és szőnyegek javítása, Budapest 1929. 2-8 (képekkel)