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55-569: They were produced by teams of weavers in the Spanish Netherlands , probably in Brussels or Antwerp, shortly after 1580. A number of great artists and artisans worked on the creation of these tapestries but today we are left with nothing but theories and speculation to their identities. Scholars such as Frances Yates and Jean Coural have developed nuanced theories backed by solid evidence to identify these unknown contributors, and also

110-581: A Hook rebellion in Holland and Flemish revolts . Maximilian prevailed with the support of Duke Albert III of Saxony and his son Philip the Handsome , husband of Joanna of Castile, could assume the rule over the Habsburg Netherlands in 1493. Philip as well as his son and successor Charles V retained the title of a " Duke of Burgundy " referring to their Burgundian inheritance, notably

165-504: A number of decorative art objects owned by the Medici family were included in the exhibit as well. In 2023, the eight tapestries are displayed in the same room in the Musée national de la Renaissance at Écouen (France) during an exhibition dedicated to Antoine Caron. Yates believes that Lucas de Heere's contribution to the tapestries represented a plea to Catherine de' Medici to send

220-666: A political purpose. Presiding over the royal government at a time when the French monarchy was in steep decline, she set out to show not only the French people but foreign courts that the Valois monarchy was as prestigious and magnificent as it had been during the reigns of Francis I and her husband Henry II . At the same time, she believed these elaborate entertainments and sumptuous court rituals, which incorporated martial sports and tournaments of many kinds, would occupy her feuding nobles and distract them from fighting against each other to

275-568: A potential leader of the Dutch. In these years, Walsingham became friends with the diplomat of Henry of Navarre in England, the anti-monarchist Philippe de Mornay . Walsingham was sent to France in mid-1581 to discuss an Anglo-French alliance, but the French wanted the marriage agreed first, and Walsingham had instructions to obtain a treaty before committing to the marriage. He returned to England without an agreement. Personally, Walsingham opposed

330-605: The Duke of Anjou the funds he needed to confront Parma effectively. Historian R. J. Knecht questions this reading and calls the tapestries "an enigma". The reason Henry III and Catherine did not throw the full weight of France behind Anjou's campaign in the Netherlands was that they feared provoking a war with Spain. Knecht asserts that a gift of tapestries, however magnificent, would hardly have changed their minds. More recently, historians Lisa Jardine and Jerry Brotton assess

385-564: The Duke of Parma feared that the Dutch would now gain the upper hand. However, Anjou himself, dissatisfied with his limited power, decided to take control of the Flemish cities of Antwerp , Bruges , Dunkirk , and Ostend by force. He would personally lead the attack on Antwerp. To fool the citizens of Antwerp, Anjou proposed that he should make a "Joyous Entry" into the city, a grand ceremony in which he would be accompanied by his French troops. On 18 January 1583, Anjou entered Antwerp, but

440-782: The Habsburg Netherlands , which passed to the Spanish Habsburgs upon the abdication of Emperor Charles V in 1556. When part of the Netherlands separated to form the autonomous Dutch Republic in 1581, the remainder of the area stayed under Spanish rule until the War of the Spanish Succession . A common administration of the Netherlandish fiefs, centered in the Duchy of Brabant , already existed under

495-563: The Protestant rebels . These fears proved well-founded; Francis joined the prince of Condé and his forces in the south. In February 1576, Henry, King of Navarre escaped from the French court, whereupon his forces also joined Condé. This combined army was enough to force Henry III, without a pitched battle of any sort, to capitulate and sign the very pro-Protestant "peace of Monsieur", or Edict of Beaulieu , on 6 May 1576. By "secret treaties" which formed part of this peace settlement, many on

550-660: The Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Tuscany, but are not normally on public display. Records regarding the display of the Valois tapestries after their arrival in Florence are rare, but it is likely that the eight works were rarely displayed and never together. All eight of the Valois tapestries were extensively conserved by the Uffizi Gallery with donation from The Friends of the Uffizi Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida in

605-503: The 21st century. Fundraising for the effort began in 1998, while the conservation and restoration work took three years. The tapestries were cleaned of dust and grime, and portions of the works which were weakened by age or damaged due to pests repaired. Paint applied to the works in the 1700s and 1800s to highlight details was also removed. In November 2018, six of the eight tapestries – Elephant , Fontainebleau , Journey , Polish Ambassadors , Tournament , and Whale – were displayed for

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660-787: The Burgundian inheritance in the Low Countries. Charles V was born and raised in the Low Countries and often stayed at the Palace of Coudenberg in Brussels. By the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 , Charles V declared the Seventeen Provinces a united and indivisible Habsburg dominion. Between 1555 and 1556, the House of Habsburg split into an Austro-German and a Spanish branch as a consequence of Charles's abdications:

715-399: The French royal family and court. Francis, Duke of Anjou is featured prominently in some of the tapestries, and Catherine de' Medici, dressed in her widow's black, occupies the central position in all of the tapestries except one. Catherine's daughter Marguerite de Valois can also be seen. One absentee from the tapestries is King Charles IX of France , who was on the throne at the time of

770-696: The Liberty of the Netherlands" and become the sovereign. He did not arrive until 10 February 1582, when William officially welcomed him in Flushing . In spite of the Joyous Entries he was accorded in Bruges and Ghent and his ceremonious installation as Duke of Brabant and Count of Flanders , Anjou was not popular with the Dutch and Flemish, who continued to see the Catholic French as enemies;

825-747: The Low Countries and the Free County of Burgundy in the Holy Roman Empire. The Habsburgs often used the term Burgundy to refer to their hereditary lands (e.g. in the name of the Imperial Burgundian Circle established in 1512), actually until 1795, when the Austrian Netherlands were lost to the French Republic . The Governor-general of the Netherlands was responsible for the administration of

880-663: The Netherlands under Habsburg rule was repeatedly invaded by the French and an increasing portion of the territory came under French control in successive wars. By the Treaty of the Pyrenees of 1659 the French annexed most of Artois , and Dunkirk was ceded to the English. By the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (ending the War of Devolution in 1668) and Nijmegen (ending the Franco-Dutch War in 1678), further territory up to

935-576: The Netherlands were left to his son Philip II of Spain , while his brother King Ferdinand I succeeded him as Holy Roman Emperor . The Seventeen Provinces, de jure still fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire, from that time on de facto were ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs as part of the Burgundian heritage. Philip's stern Counter-Reformation measures sparked the Dutch Revolt in

990-554: The Protestant side were rewarded with land and titles. Francis was awarded the Duchy of Anjou (along with other lands) and thus became the Duke of Anjou. He had the writer Jean de La Gessée as a secretary. In 1579, negotiations commenced for marrying Anjou to Elizabeth I of England . The Duke of Anjou was in fact the only one of Elizabeth's foreign suitors to court her in person. He made two visits to England, in 1579 and 1581. He

1045-716: The Protestants at the hands of the Valois. They interpret the inclusion of Turks alongside the Huguenots to indicate that both were regarded as "infidels", an association previously made in the Tunis tapestries for the Habsburg Philip II's marriage to Mary I of England . Jardine and Brotton also suggest that the Valois tapestries have a clear antecedent in the triumphalist History of Scipio tapestries designed for Francis I by Giulio Romano . Yates believed that

1100-455: The Spanish sphere of influence. With Albert's death in 1621 they returned to formal Spanish control, although the childless Isabella remained on as governor until her death in 1633. The failing wars intended to regain the 'heretical' northern Netherlands meant significant loss of (still mainly Catholic) territories in the north, which was consolidated in 1648 in the Peace of Westphalia , and given

1155-642: The Valois ethos, since the Triumph of Scipio was displayed during the summit meeting between the French and Spanish courts at Bayonne. Knecht urges caution, however. The intent of the tapestries is to glorify the house of Valois; beyond that, he believes, all is speculation. Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands ( Spanish : Países Bajos Españoles ; Dutch : Spaanse Nederlanden ; French : Pays-Bas espagnols ; German : Spanische Niederlande ) (historically in Spanish: Flandes ,

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1210-473: The authority of the House of Habsburg reconciling previous anti-Spanish sentiments. In the early 17th century, there was a flourishing court at Brussels . Among the artists who emerged from the court of the "Archdukes", as they were known, was Peter Paul Rubens . Under Isabella and Albert, the Spanish Netherlands actually had formal independence from Spain, but always remained unofficially within

1265-549: The citizens had not been deceived. The city militia ambushed and destroyed Anjou's force in the French Fury . Anjou barely escaped with his life. The debacle at Antwerp marked the end of Anjou's military career. His mother, Catherine de' Medici , is said to have written to him that "would to God you had died young. You would then not have been the cause of the death of so many brave gentlemen." Another insult followed when Elizabeth I formally ended her engagement to him after

1320-608: The current Franco-Belgian border was ceded, including Cambrai , Walloon Flanders , as well as half of the County of Hainaut (including Valenciennes ). Later, in the War of the Reunions and the Nine Years' War , France annexed other parts of the region that were restored to Spain by the Treaty of Rijswijk 1697. During the War of the Spanish Succession , in 1706 the Habsburg Netherlands became an Anglo-Dutch condominium for

1375-537: The depiction of an elephant in one of the tapestries was based on engravings of Anjou's staged entry into Antwerp. Jardine and Brotton suggest instead that Antoine Caron based his designs for the Elephant tapestry on his own painting Night Festival with an Elephant , which in turn draws on The Battle of Zama from the Scipio tapestries. They also maintain that the political message of those tapestries remained part of

1430-403: The detriment of the country and the royal authority. Catherine also exercised her own creative gifts in the devising of the court festivals. Biographer Leonie Frieda suggests that she, "more than anyone, inaugurated the fantastic entertainments for which later French monarchs also became renowned". Most of the full-length figures in the foreground of the tapestries are recognizable as members of

1485-706: The entertainments recorded in the tapestries can be identified with known events, such as the festivals mounted at Fontainebleau and at Bayonne during Charles IX's royal progress of 1564–65; and the ball held for the Polish ambassadors at the Tuileries in 1573. Particularly lavish were the tournaments and fêtes held in 1565 in Bayonne, near the Spanish border of France, where Catherine de' Medici met with her daughter Elisabeth, Queen of Spain , amidst rituals of display from both courts. The latest event identifiable in

1540-484: The events depicted, but who had died (1574) by the time the hangings were woven. Yates speculates that the Protestant creators of the tapestries deliberately cut him out because of his involvement in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of 1572, in which thousands of French Protestants, or Huguenots , were slaughtered on his orders. Caron's original drawings for the tapestries, of which six survive, show Charles IX taking part in

1595-401: The festivities. It is the later artist who removed Charles from the designs and added the figures in the foreground who relate to the court of Charles's successor Henry III . The collection of eight tapestries has no formal title, but is usually called the "Valois tapestries" and sometimes the "Fêtes des Valois". The tapestries, none of which has an official name are described and summarized in

1650-624: The first time in North America at the Cleveland Museum of Art . It was also the first exhibition of the tapestries since their conservation. The works were hung in gallery with walls of various shapes and heights, similar to how they would have been hung originally. Drawings used to inspire the works and preparatory documents used by the weavers were displayed alongside the tapestries. Full-length portraits of Catherine de' Medici, Henry III of France, and Christina of Lorraine as well as

1705-420: The imagery of the tapestries and "turn Yates's argument on its head", concluding that "the tapestries actually are deeply antithetical to the Protestant, and specifically Huguenot , cause." They argue that the Huguenots are depicted in the tapestries not, as Yates believed, to demonstrate the tolerance of the Valois and offer a vision of different faiths and peoples at peace, but to illustrate the certain defeat of

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1760-402: The immensely detailed borders to each tapestry. These were likely designed by a third artist entirely, employed by the workshop producing the tapestries. The borders of these pieces are extremely understudied, but nonetheless key to determining where and by whom these tapestries were created. The artists seem to have consulted written accounts of Catherine de' Medici's court festivals . Some of

1815-675: The mainly Calvinist Netherlandish provinces, which led to the outbreak of the Eighty Years' War in 1568. In January 1579 the seven northern provinces formed the Protestant Union of Utrecht , which declared independence from the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands by the 1581 Act of Abjuration . The Spanish branch of the Habsburgs could retain the rule only over

1870-459: The marriage scheme wholeheartedly. Most notable councillors, foremost among them Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester , and Sir Francis Walsingham , strongly opposed it, even warning the Queen of the hazards of childbirth at her age. Between 1578 and 1581, the Queen resurrected attempts to negotiate a marriage with the Duke of Alençon. The Duke put himself forward as a protector of the Huguenots and

1925-415: The marriage, perhaps to the point of encouraging public opposition. Alençon was a Catholic, and as his elder brother, Henry III, was childless, he was heir presumptive to the French throne. Elizabeth was probably past the age of childbearing, and had no clear successor. If she died while married to the French heir, her realms could fall under French control. By comparing the match of Elizabeth and Alençon with

1980-626: The massacre. The position of Anjou after this attack became impossible to hold, and he eventually left the country in June. His departure also discredited William, who nevertheless maintained his support for Anjou. Soon Anjou fell seriously ill with "tertian ague", malaria . Catherine de' Medici brought him back to Paris, where he reconciled with his brother, King Henry III of France , in February 1584. Henry even embraced his brother, whom he had famously called le petit magot ("little macaque"). By June,

2035-745: The match of the Protestant Henry of Navarre and the Catholic Margaret of Valois, which occurred in the week before the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre , the "most horrible spectacle" he had ever witnessed, Walsingham raised the spectre of religious riots in England in the event of the marriage proceeding. According to the Earl of Leicester, Elizabeth tolerated his blunt opinions and often unwelcome advice, referring to Walsingham as "her Moor who cannot change his colour" with regard to his strong beliefs. Eventually, Elizabeth pragmatically judged

2090-591: The name "Flanders" was used as a pars pro toto ) was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries held in personal union by the Spanish Crown . This region comprised most of the modern states of Belgium and Luxembourg , as well as parts of northern France ,

2145-612: The notion that she may really have been prepared to go through with the match. Anjou continued on to the Netherlands. In 1579 William the Silent had invited him to become hereditary sovereign of the United Provinces , and on 29 September 1580 the Dutch States General (with the exception of Zeeland and Holland) had signed the Treaty of Plessis-les-Tours with the Duke, who would assume the title "Protector of

2200-424: The original sketches made by Antoine Caron make up the chaotic backgrounds of each piece. These portions of the tapestries served as the foundations of what was to be created. Laid on top of this chaotic background sit the almost detached portraits later added to the works by the second artist. These serve to further the narrative of the tapestry cycle and further the image of the immediate royal circle. Lastly, we have

2255-476: The partly Catholic Southern Netherlands , completed after the Fall of Antwerp in 1585. Better times came, when in 1598 the Spanish Netherlands passed to Philip's daughter Isabella Clara Eugenia and her husband Archduke Albert VII of Austria . The couple's rule brought a period of much-needed peace and stability to the economy, which stimulated the growth of a separate South Netherlandish identity and consolidated

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2310-540: The peculiar inferior status of Generality Lands (jointly ruled by the United Republic, not admitted as member provinces): Zeelandic Flanders (south of the River Scheldt ), the present Dutch province of North Brabant and Maastricht (in the present-day Dutch province of Limburg ). As the power of the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs waned in the latter decades of the 17th century, the territory of

2365-542: The political meaning of the tapestries, but research has yet to confirm many of these findings. These works display surprisingly intimate and personal moments within the royal inner circle clashing against the busy backdrops of these lavish festivals. The tapestries are now in the Uffizi Museum in Florence , Italy. The tapestries are based on six (possibly eight) designs drawn by the artist Antoine Caron during

2420-580: The provinces of Zeeland and Holland refused to recognise him as their sovereign, and William, the central figure of the " Politiques " who worked to defuse religious hostilities, came under extensive criticism for his "French politics". He is now thought to have been the patron behind the " Valois tapestries " presented to Catherine de' Medici, which depicted major figures in Catherine's court against scenes of festivity. When Anjou's French troops arrived in late 1582, William's plan seemed to pay off, as even

2475-505: The reign of King Charles IX of France (1560–1574). These were modified by a second artist, who reveals a strong personality of their own, to include groups of full-length figures in the foreground. Historian Frances Yates believed that this second artist was the influential Lucas de Heere , this claim holds grounds and is backed by solid evidence but is nevertheless highly contested and debated among historians. The eight tapestries can be easily separated into several distinct sections. First

2530-643: The remainder of the conflict. By the peace treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt in 1713/14 ending the war, the Southern Netherlands returned to the Austrian Habsburg monarchy forming the Austrian Netherlands . From 1581 the Habsburg Netherlands consisted of the following territories, all part of modern Belgium unless otherwise stated: Francis, Duke of Anjou Monsieur François, Duke of Anjou and Alençon ( French : Hercule François ; 18 March 1555 – 10 June 1584)

2585-553: The royal children, Claude d'Urfé and Françoise d'Humières , under the orders of Diane de Poitiers . In 1574, following the death of his brother Charles IX of France and the accession of his other brother Henry III of France , he became heir to the throne. In 1576 he was made Duke of Anjou , Touraine , and Berry . During the night of 13 September 1575, Alençon fled from the French court after being alienated from his brother King Henry III as they had had some differences. Both Henry III and Catherine de' Medici feared he would join

2640-730: The rule of the Burgundian Duke Philip the Good with the implementation of a stadtholder and the first convocation of the States General of the Netherlands in 1464. His granddaughter Mary had confirmed a number of privileges to the States by the Great Privilege signed in 1477. After the government takeover by her husband Archduke Maximilian I of Austria , the States insisted on their privileges, culminating in

2695-469: The southern Netherlands , and western Germany , with the capital being Brussels . The Army of Flanders was given the task of defending the territory. The Imperial fiefs of the former Burgundian Netherlands had been inherited by the Austrian House of Habsburg from the extinct House of Valois-Burgundy upon the death of Mary of Burgundy in 1482. The Seventeen Provinces formed the core of

2750-498: The table below. Scholars have not firmly established who commissioned the tapestries or for whom they were intended. It is highly likely that they originally owned by, or given to Catherine de' Medici, but they are not included in the inventory of possessions drawn up after her death. It is likely that Catherine presented them to her granddaughter Christina of Lorraine , in celebration of her marriage to Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany , in 1589. The tapestries are now in

2805-473: The tapestries was held in 1573 at the Tuileries , where Catherine laid on a ball for ambassadors from the Polish governing council, who had elected her son Henry as king of Poland. The costumes worn by the courtiers in the tapestries have been dated to not later than c. 1580. For Catherine de' Medici, who masterminded these occasions and may have ordered the tapestries that commemorated them, such entertainments were worth their colossal expense, since they served

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2860-406: The union an unwise one, after considering the overwhelming opposition of her advisors. She continued, however, to play the engagement game, if only to warn Philip II of Spain , another of her suitors, what she might do, if it became necessary. Finally, Elizabeth bade him farewell in 1581. On his departure she penned a poem, " On Monsieur's Departure ", which, taken at face value, has lent credence to

2915-402: Was 24 and Elizabeth was 46. Despite the age gap, the two soon became very close, Elizabeth dubbing him her "frog." While a few believe this nickname arose from a frog-shaped earring he had given her, "frog" has been an unflattering slang nickname for the French for centuries. Whether or not Elizabeth truly planned to marry Anjou is a hotly debated topic. She was quite fond of him, knowing that he

2970-541: Was probably going to be her last suitor. The match was controversial among the English public: English Protestants warned the Queen that the "hearts [of the English people] will be galled when they shall see you take to husband a Frenchman, and a Papist ... the very common people well know this: that he is the son of the Jezebel of our age," referring to the Duke's mother, Catherine de' Medici . Among members of Elizabeth's Privy Council , only William Cecil, Lord Burghley , and Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex , supported

3025-407: Was the youngest son of King Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici . He was scarred by smallpox at age eight, and his pitted face and slightly deformed spine did not suit his birth name of Hercule . He changed his name to Francis in honour of his late brother Francis II of France when he was confirmed . The royal children were raised under the supervision of the governor and governess of

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