Carmine Romano, the curator of the exhibition and head of Digitization & Digital Catalogue at the Capodimonte Museum, said that “they are like the Sistine Chapel of tapestry.”
‘Raphael of the Netherlands’
The Pavia tapestries were designed by the Flemish artist Bernard van Orley (1487–1541). Born in Brussels, he was first trained by his father, a painter, and soon became a court painter himself. He worked for Margaret of Austria, who was the aunt of Charles V and Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands. In 1530, she died and was succeeded in her post by Mary of Hungary, sister of Charles V, for whom van Orley continued to work.
Van Orley presided over a large workshop, specializing in portraiture, religious scenes, and stained glass and tapestry design. His contemporaries knew him as the “Raphael of the Netherlands” because he incorporated Italianate figures, forms, and architectural and decorative motifs into the Netherlandish artistic vernacular.
When designing tapestries, artists first created sketches that they developed into presentation models to show to clients. After a design was finalized, the images were made into full-scale paintings as guides for the weavers. Van Orley’s preparatory drawings for the Pavia tapestries are owned by the Louvre and have been lent to the de Young’s exhibition. It’s fascinating to see the drawings juxtaposed with the tapestry and observe the changes made with the finished, woven works.
Van Orley’s ‘Sistine Chapel of Tapestry’
The Pavia tapestries were gifted to Charles V in 1531 by the States General (Netherlands’ legislature) at the Royal Palace Brussels. The decisive victory of the imperial army that the series commemorates had occurred only six years earlier, on Feb. 24, 1525, in the town of Pavia, Italy, about 20 miles south of Milan.
Van Orley’s designs must have been coordinated closely with Charles and his court, because some of the famous figures in the tapestries are portraits. An example of this is the representation of Fernando Francesco d’Avalos, Marquis of Pescara, a Neapolitan and commander of Charles’s army. The Battle of Pavia pitted Charles’s Habsburg army that included Spanish and Burgundian troops and German mercenaries against French soldiers supported by Swiss mercenaries.
The intense fighting scenes depict almost life-sized figures and horses during the battle’s key defensive and offensive moments, which lasted only a few hours. Amid the arms and armor of the troops, there are flourishes of sumptuous velvets and feathers worn by high-ranking officers. The different sides and subgroups within each army are identifiable by their costumes and the flags they carry. They’re set in a meticulously detailed landscape, showing Pavia with its towers, churches, and city wall surrounded by countryside.
The key to the imperial army’s victory was the use of barrel-loaded long guns, specifically arquebuses, a new weapon at the time. The mobility of these firearms was strategically advantageous, and the armor of the French soldiers could not withstand their firing. In addition, warriors on horseback were highly susceptible. The detail of “The Capture of Francis I” panel shows the death of his horse: This led to the French king being surrounded and caught by Charles V’s army.
To provide greater context for the tapestries, the exhibition’s curators have included a selection of arms and armor in the presentation. The objects are drawn from the Capodimonte’s preeminent Farnese Armory and feature intricately designed and decorated swords, firearms (including an arquebus), helmets, and suits of armor, which in the early 16th century weighed between 66 and 77 pounds.
Charles V, who continuously traveled throughout his lands, left the Pavia tapestries in Brussels with Mary of Hungary. She kept them and later left them to a relative, who bequeathed them to the Neapolitan d’Avalos family. This was a fitting gift, as their ancestor had been an integral part of the victory. The panels remained in this family until 1862, when the last descendant donated their extensive art collection to Naples’s national museum. The tapestries have been on view at the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte since 1957.
It’s astonishing that these tapestries have survived in such good condition for almost 500 years. Many other important Renaissance tapestry series weren’t so lucky. The artistry of the Pavia tapestries is so rich that visitors can find a new detail with every viewing. The sheer theatricality of the scenes thrust the viewer into battle, facilitating an immersive experience. What a treat to be able to experience them, for a limited time, in the United States.
