38 - TAPESTRY PANEL

TAPESTRY PANEL Bruges (former Southern Netherlands), second half of the 16th century Tapestry depicting the Story of Gombault and Macée Wool and silk, plain weave. Density: 4 to 5 warp threads per centimeter. H. 264 cm – W. 261 cm Restorations, mending, and reweaving, particularly in the border, carried out in the 19th century. Oxidation and wear. This panel is part of the famous tapestry depicting the Story of Gombault and Macée, a pastoral subject that was very popular in the 16th century, which recounts the life, love, and marriage of two shepherds. It is notable for its beautiful polychromy and the exceptional vibrancy of its colors, which have remained remarkably well-preserved. The tapestry reads like a true “comic strip.” It follows Gombault and Macée through the stages of life. Beneath the apparent lightheartedness of the rural scenes, it offers a dual moral interpretation, full of humor: the awakening to sensuality, marriage, and, in the end, the inevitability of death. The composition is meticulously structured across two registers. This arrangement follows the tradition of late-Medieval tapestries, which remained vibrant well into the Renaissance. The upper register depicts a courtly scene. Lords and ladies richly dressed in the Flemish Renaissance style (caps, fitted doublets, vertugadin gowns, puffed sleeves) advance in a procession through a grove of fruit trees. This orchard evokes the garden of love. The speech bubbles in Middle French lend the panel particular historical significance. Typical of works intended for the French market, they carry on the medieval poetic tradition. They read as follows: “Yes, God willing, I am confident I have put an end to her virginity, provided we are united.” “Macée, think about it: your best days are not behind you, for you have a handsome and charming man. ” (Her youth and her happy days are only just beginning.) “After having laughed and feasted to his heart’s content, the gallant man ultimately takes on a heavy burden when marriage threatens to trap him in a snare, where worry eventually overwhelms him. ” (Marriage is humorously portrayed here as the end of the young man’s freedom.) “With your big, perky nipples, even if you get pregnant tonight, the news will never reach Rome.” The lower register occupies the bottom third of the panel. It features a very dense millefleurs background (carnations, roses, stylized foliage) against which large birds are depicted in profile: partridges, pheasants, and turkeys. The profile pose is a common motif in 16th-century cartoons. The turkey, or “Indian hen,” had been brought back from the Americas by the Spanish at the beginning of the century. These birds are included for a specific reason: as symbols of fertility and prosperity, they foreshadow the young couple’s fertility. Bibliography - G. Delmarcel and E. Duverger, Bruges and Tapestry, Bruges, 1987. - G. Delmarcel, Flemish Tapestry from the 15th to the 18th Century, Paris, 1999. - J. Guiffrey, *The Loves of Gombault and Macée: A Study of a French Tapestry from the Saint-Lô Museum*, Paris, 1882. - Y. Bizardel, “A Tapestry with a Rustic Theme: The Loves of Gombault and Macée.” Related Works Panels from the tapestry are housed at the Saint-Lô Museum of Art and History, the Petit Palais (Museum of Fine Arts of the City of Paris), at the Mobilier National, at the Château de Montal (Lot), at the Château du Moulin (Loir-et-Cher), and at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.