Bernart Van Orley as a Designer of Tapestry

Though much appreciated through the ages, Van Orley's tapestry designs have never been fully evaluated for their significant contribution to Flemish art. Previous studies have focused on questions of attribution and Roman influence, but neglected to place the designs in their proper context. This is the concern of this thesis. Chapter one discusses tapestry industry in sixteenth-century Brussels and the developments in guild regulations and economic and social-political factors which encouraged the growth of this industry. Van Orley's early participation in this specialized field is traced in chapter two. Following the example of his predecessors, the artist at first drew upon his painted oeuvre for inspiration. However, Van Orley subsequently began to separate the two media, seeing in tapestry design different requirements and possibilities. The relationship between designer, cartonnier and weaver and Van Orley's control over the final product is suggested in his drawings for tapestries. Chapter three examines the many stages in the design procedure evident in the technique of the drawings and attempts, thereby, to clarify the contract terminology found in contemporary documents. Van Orley's innovations in tapestry design and the characteristics of his works which influenced more than a century of designers are best seen in the mature works of the late 1520s: The Hunts of Maximilian, Battle of Pavia and Story of Jacob among them. Chapter four studies the transformation of artistic sources for Van Orley's development of naturalistic illusionism. The monumental scale of tapestry led him to consult Raphael's carefully devised concept of history painting and his incomparable sense of clarity and organization. Van Orley fused these elements of design with familiar details from the viewer's world, creating a new sense of verisimilitude in tapestry which had never been achieved before. Though the subjects of Van Orley's tapestries are not new, his treatment of them is. Chapter five demonstrates how Van Orley manipulated the narrative in order to make these traditional subjects immediately accessible to the viewer. He emphasized the dramatic moments ad imbued each tale with all aspects of the human condition.