The century of ColumbusWalsh, James J. (James Joseph)
History
The century of Columbus
Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)
Renaissance
As a matter of fact there was scarcely a cathedral or monastery in
France at this time that did not come into the possession of beautiful
tapestries that are now very precious treasures. During recent years
the value of such tapestries have increased very much and our
millionaires have been willing to spend almost fabulous sums in order
to get possession of them. We have had the opportunity here in America
through the munificence of the late Mr. Pierpont Morgan to see some of
them in the Metropolitan Museum and have learned to realize that the
praise of them is well deserved. Mr. Hunter says that "the most famous
tapestries in the world are the Renaissance tapestries, though the
only distinction in most cases between the Gothic tapestries of the
end of the fifteenth and the Renaissance tapestries at the beginning
of the sixteenth, is that in one, whatever architecture or
ornamentation or decoration is used has Gothic motives, while the
models for these same details in the later tapestries is drawn from
the Renaissance." The Brussels tapestries of the early sixteenth
century are particularly beautiful and are the despair of the modern
tapestry makers. Other Flemish cities, however, Arras, Tournai,
Bruges, Lille, Antwerp became famous for their tapestries and Delft,
in Holland, was a worthy rival. The art seems to require too much
patience for our modern artisans to compete with their brethren of the
old time, but doubtless with the rise and appreciation of artistic
handicraftsmanship and the demand for charming decoration of homes and
public buildings regardless of cost, we may look confidently for a
development even in this line.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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