November 18, 2018, to January 21, 2019
This unique set of eight hangings was almost certainly commissioned in the 1570s by Catherine de’ Medici, the indomitable queen mother of France, to celebrate the future of the Valois dynasty as continuing rulers of France. Juxtaposing the hangings with paintings, drawings and exquisite art objects of the period, the exhibition explores the tapestries’ role as an artistic and political statement involving two of the most powerful European dynasties of the Renaissance—the Valois and the Medici—and their respective power bases in Paris and Florence.
Valois tapestry depicting the ball held in 1573 at the Tuileries in honour of Polish envoys. Catherine de' Medici is seated in the centre, wearing her habitual widow's black.
The CMA has partnered with the Gallerie degli Uffizi in Florence and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Cultural Activities to organize this exhibition, which reveals for the first time the completed conservation of these unique hangings.
Elephant, from the Valois Tapestries, c. 1576. Woven under the direction of Master MGP, Brussels. Wool, silk, silver and gilded silver metal-wrapped thread; 382.5 x 468 cm. Gallerie degli Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti, deposit, Florence, Arazzi n. 474. Photo: Roberto Palermo.
Fontainebleau, from the Valois Tapestries, c. 1576. Woven under the direction of Master WF, Brussels. Wool, silk, silver and gilded silver metal-wrapped thread; 395.5 x 338 cm. Gallerie degli Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti, deposit, Florence, Arazzi n. 473. Photo: Roberto Palermo
This tapestry depicts festivities at the meeting of the Valois and Habsburg courts at Bayonne in 1565; the harpooned whale spouted red wine.
