Courtiers in a Rose Garden: Four Gentlemen and Four Ladies
A mid-15th-century tapestry with eight men and women in Burgundian court dress woven against red, white, and blue stripes thick with rosebushes. Full commentary ↓
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Courtiers in a Rose Garden: Four Gentlemen and Four Ladies is a textile by an unknown maker (ca. 1440–1450) in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It measures 378.5 × 264.2 cm.
In the pictureRose vines spread across a ground of red, white, and blue vertical stripes, and among them eight men and women stand in two rows. The men wear short tunics and long hose; the women wear tall, pointed headdresses and gowns that trail on the floor. The parts of the clothing woven with gold thread still glow softly despite the years. It is a large work, 3.8 meters high.
BackgroundWoven in the southern Netherlands in the mid-15th century, this tapestry is one of three from the same series at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which share the theme of courtly men and women in a rose garden. The red, white, and blue stripes are thought to be the heraldic colors of a particular family, so the tapestry probably covered the walls of a noble residence and declared the identity of the household. The figures' clothes follow the latest fashions of the Burgundian court of the time, and they also serve as a source for the history of dress.
Puzzle tipAs a puzzle, it offers two clues. The vertical stripes of the ground follow a set color order that tells you the horizontal position, and the eight figures each wear different colors, which tells you the vertical position. Complete the figures first, then fit the rose vine pieces in between by looking at the stripe colors.
- Culture
- South Netherlandish
- Classification
- Textiles-Tapestries
- Medium
- Wool warp, wool, silk, and metallic weft yarns
- Dimensions
- 378.5 × 264.2 cm
- Credit line
- Rogers Fund, 1909
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
In these collections: Spring Masterpiece Puzzles · Flower Painting Puzzles
Stories about this work
- Courtiers in a Rose Garden: Three 15th-Century Tapestries
A 15th-century tapestry series that weaves roses and courtiers over red, white, and blue stripes, plus puzzle tips that use the vertical striped ground.
