THE HISTORY OF CONSTANTINE: WHO WANTS TO TELL THIS STORY?

The Constantine tapestries were originally commissioned by and gifted to members of the Catholic church and were clearly crafted to uphold Christianity (and by extension, Catholicism) as central pieces of the story of formation of Europe as it existed in the 17^th century. Though the final set includes 13 tapestries, the series was commissioned and created in two separate parts, being purchased by different buyers, designed by two separate artists, and even being woven in two different countries.

The first 7 tapestries were commissioned around 1622 for the French King Louis XIII. They were designed by prominent Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens and woven in the workshop of Filippe Maëcht and Hans Taye, fellow Flemish artisans. Their studio was housed in the Comans-La Planche tapestry factory in Faubourg Saint-Marcel, an industrial district in Paris home to a number of professionals in the textile, dye, and tanning industries. Whether or not Louis originally commissioned the works for himself is unclear, but by the time the collection was completed in 1625, the series had been gifted to Cardinal Francesco Barberini, a prominent religious figure of the day and nephew to Pope Urban VIII. The Barberini Family then went on to commission an additional six tapestries, taking their patronage to a fellow Italian – Pietro da Cortona. Cortona started the design process between 1630 and 1632, with the weaving process beginning in 1633. Over the course of 4 years, these new tapestries were woven in the workshop of Jacomo della Riviera at the Barberini Atelier in Rome, and by 1637, the Barberini Family were the proud owners of the 13 tapestries we now refer to as The History of Constantine.

The wealth and proximity to power exhibited by these two patrons is not anomalous when examining the history of Baroque tapestry but is instead indicative of the class and financial means one had to have to gain access to tapestry as an artform. Apart from the large amount of labor needed to create tapestries of this size (each of the tapestries is 16 feet tall, with the widest tapestries measuring at over 24 feet wide), the materials also presented a significant expense. Tapestries of this caliber were typically made with a combination of wool and silk, with the most expensive pieces (like The History of Constantine) including gilded threads of gold and silver. Price variation was extreme, but the price tag generally rose with each new luxury material introduced.  In Tapestry in the Baroque: Threads of Splendor, historian Thomas P. Campbell writes that tapestries “made with wool and silk cost 4 times as much as those made with wool alone, whereas those enriched with gilt-metal-wrapped thread cost between 20 and 50 times as much.” Considering the size, materials, and level of detail included in The History of Constantine, one can only imagine how much King Louis and the Barberini family had to shell out.

Apart from the Christian symbols included in the tapestries’ borders, each of these patrons also put their own stamp on the designs, choosing to include representations of their respective families and national identities. The Rubens tapestries designed for King Louis include two prominent symbols of the French royal family, with the left side including a blue shield with three fleurs-de-lis and the right a red shield with golden chains. The Cortona tapestries designed specifically for the Barberini Family omitted these elements in favor of their own symbol, a blue shield containing a single large bee. The inclusion of these familial signifiers inextricably tie these two houses not only to the creation of this collection, but to the story of Constantine himself. These powerful European nobles sought to display not only their wealth, but to signify they were connected to the illustrious history of European governance and Christianity’s enduring power on the continent. Their political and religious purposes walked hand in hand.

The History of Constantine includes Christian symbols, celebrating the life of a Christian ruler, and was intended as a gift to strengthen ties between a modern monarch and the Catholic Church. Its audience would immediately recognize the message the designers chose to communicate, and today, they persist as valuable pieces of history that allow us to see and appreciate not only the craftsmanship used to create them, but also gain an insight into how political and religious figures communicated their values and allegiances through art.

These images show the different familial symbols included in the borders of each of the tapestries in The History of Constantine. The close images of the blue and red shields showcase the French symbols found on the tapestries commissioned by King Louis, while the wider image shows a Barberini tapestry with its characteristic bees.

PHOTO CREDIT: Talia Pugliese