Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-01-26
Bv Leila MechIin.

"HE Corcoran Gallery Of Art has
created a new and permanent
attraction in its new hall Of
L tapestries and sculpture opened
TO the public last week. This Is the
spacious northwest gallery on the first
floor, done over after the manner of
the Gothic gallery in the Clark wing.
The walls have been given a stone
finish very pleasing in texture and
color which closely approximates &C
tual masonry and makes an ideal
background for fabric hangings and
sculpture in bronze and marble.
Herein have now been hung the set
Of five sixteenth century Flemish tap
estries bequeathed to the Corcoran
Gallery of Art by the late Joseph
Sampson Stevens Of New York, by
whom, for 20 years, they were loaned
to the Metropolitan Museum Of Art.
These magnificent examples Of the
tapestry weaver's art have just been
transferred from the museum in New
York. which, incidentally, valued them
at 100000, to the Corcoran Gallery
VA IA AA CAAAo Nltys W4ISAC Why AAoSS
been speedily put on view.
The series consists of one very large
tapestry, approximately 20 feet long
by II feet high, and four smaller ones,
z feet inches by II feet. All five
illustrate incidents in the story of
Cupid and Psyche This was popular
theme with tapestry makers. Raphael,
or one of his pupils, made series of
cartoons illustrating this popular
NEUROLOGICAL story which were repro
duced in the engravings Of Agostino
Veneziano and copied and recopied.
Based on these, but with "nudities
deliberately suppressed" is a series
produced by the Gobelins in early days
and reckoned among their best. In
174l, however, Boucher made cartoons
for a set of five, setting forth the
Psyche story, which were woven at
Beauvias and became very famous.
Meanwhile, in Flanders, weavers were
working from designs made by Rubens
and those of his school. Certainly the
set which the Corcoran Gallery has
inherited does not follow either the
Raphael or the Boucher tradition. but
is essentially Flemish in general char
acter.
In these the "nudities" are not sup
pressed, but neither are they offensive.
The center panels of the largest Of
these royal hangings shows Psyche
with lamp in one hand and knife III
the other about to make deadly assault
upon sleeping Cupid. To the left
stand the three wicked sisters whose
jealousy egged her on to the cruel act:
while to the right is represented the
flight of Cupid, and Psyche's despair.
The smaller panels carry on the story
Of her repentance and penance.
The compositions are very elaborate
and every effort has been made to
simulate reality. even to the represen-
tation Of granting in the marble floor
OF the palace At this era tapestry
weaving had technically reached its
height, but was artistically in de-
cadence. The Gothic weavers, so
splendidly represented in the four flf-
tenth century pieces in the Clark
collection, wove stories, but with naive
simplicity and as suitable to their
medium. These were essentially origi-
nal works, but later, when the great
painters were called in to aid, tap
estries lost their own distinctive quail
ity and became limitations of paint
ings. To be sure, they were still, as
is here seen. well composed and deco
rative. The painter designers were
master artists, but they were not
artisans and the weavers followed their
lead blindly.
"A DISTINGUISHING mark of the
work of this period is the broad,
handsome woven borders. The early
Gothic and Transition period tapes
tries had very narrow or no borders,
but during later centuries they became
q feature, until at last they took on
the semblance of frames. The borders
in this set are very handsome and
decorative. On one Of the smaller OF
the tapestries they appear only on the
top and bottom, having evidently been
cut of, which leads to the supposition
that the picture itself may have been
trimmed down. Incredible as it may
seem, when at the end of the eighth
zenith century tapestries went out OF
fashion, some of the finest of the old
pieces were put to all sorts of use. such
as covers for orange trees in green
houses in case of frost; in some in
stances we're cut up and used as mats
and rugs, and so some precious speci-
mems were completely destroyed.
Luckily many, however, survived-so
many in fact. that one knowing the
difficulties of the process and the
length of time required for execution,
wonders.
The distinction between French and
Flemish tapestries Is a nice one be-
cause some of the Flemish cities
where tapestry weaving was a chief
industry were French. George Leland
Hunter in his Practical Book Of Tap
estries" says: "All great Gothic tapes
tries are French Gothic. whether wov-
en- in Northern France or in the French
Netherlands" But this refers prin-
cipally to the Burgundian era hum
dred and more years prior to the
weaving Of the Corcoran Gallerys re-
Gently acquired set.
Those who are interested in tapes
tries-and who is not?-will learn
with pleasure, If they do not already
know, that there are no less than So
tapestries Of rare interest and quality
now on view in the Corcoran Gallery
Of Art. Some of these are on loan,
but a considerable number are per-
manent possessions. Among the former
are four fifteenth century Gothic
French Flemish-tapestries woven for
the Duke Of Burgundy, who at that
time was more powerful and a greater
patron of the arts than even the
French King. These belong to the
Clark collection and hang in the
Gothic room, lighted by a stained
glass window Of the same period-as
1ine . room as is to be found in any
museum In this country. Hunting
scenes on the Duke of Burgundy'S eS.