1.1 Electors of Saxony
Unfortunately, there is still no major study on the collections of the Electors of Saxony. The famous Tournament tapestry, preserved in Valenciennes, is one of the oldest that showcases of Frederick the Wise (1463-1525)’s interest in the art of textiles [1].1 This piece bears the coat of arms of the prince-elector on a border imitating velvet. It commemorates the tournament which took place in Antwerp in 1494 on the occasion of the investiture of Philip the Fair (1478-1506) as sovereign of the Netherlands, an event where both Frederick III and Emperor Maximilian (1459-1519) were present. The tapestry was first listed in an inventory in Saxony in 1527.
It is probably unnecessary to present this very powerful prince [2], who will be known for evermore as Martin Luther’s main patron.2 Frederick was also the patron of Lucas Cranach I, whom he summoned to his court in Wittenberg in 1505 and to whom he also entrusted diplomatic missions, particularly in Flanders. Cranach went to Malines in 1508 at the court of Margaret of Austria.3 He left models in the Netherlands that were later widely used in tapestries. For instance, a tapestry depicting the Holy Family [3], in front of a tree with little angels playing musical instruments in its branches, is derived from the Rest on the Flight into Egypt’s woodcut attributed to Cranach the Elder [4].4
A series from Brussels showing the Passion, likely to be associated to Frederick the Wise, stands out among other important acquisitions. Four of ten tapestries are still preserved in Dresden [5].5 The compositions, derived from Albrecht Dürer‘s engraved cycles, are attributed to the painter Bernaert van Orley. Dated on stylistic grounds to the end of the 1520s, the series deserves to be meticulously studied. The circumstances surrounding its acquisition are still vague. The tapestry of the Crucifixion is akin to a piece from another Passion, woven between 1518-1524, which belonged to the regent Margaret of Austria.6 It is likely that the Dresden set was bought, if not commissioned, in the Netherlands, probably during one of the many visits of Frederick the Wise, or even his brother John the Steadfast (1468-1532), to the court of Malines.
1
Anonymous (Flemish)
Tournament of Frederick the Wise, c. 1495
wool, silk, silver thread, gold thread 497 x 597 cm
Valenciennes, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Valenciennes, inv.no. O.A.87.19
2
Lucas Cranach (I)
Portrait of Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony, dated 1525
Karlsruhe, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, inv./cat.nr. 120
3
Flemish, free after Lucas Cranach (I)free
Rest on the Flight into Egypt, c. 1510
wool, silk, silver thread, gold thread 234 x 216 cm
Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), Frick Art & Historical Center, inv./cat.nr. 1970.2
4
Lucas Cranach (I)
Rest on the flight to Egypt, dated 1509
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. RP-P-OB-4387
5
Anonymous (Brussels) after Bernard van Orley
The Crucifixion, c. 1520-1530
wool, silk, silver thread, gold thread ? x ? cm
Dresden, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
6
Lucas Cranach (II)
Double portrait of Moritz of Saxony (1521-1553) and Agnes of Hessen (1527-1555), dated 1559
Dresden, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden - Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, inv./cat.nr. 1945
This set is mentioned in later inventories as ‘Old Passion’. Indeed, in the 1550s, another set of the Passion (the ‘New Passion’) was acquired by the Albertine branch, either by the famous Elector Maurice of Saxony (1521-1553) [6], or by his successor, Elector Augustus of Saxony (1526-1586). It was probably among the possessions of the electors before 1554 because, at that date, the new chapel of the Dresden Palace was decorated with this subject (c. 1548-1553). In an inventory of 1565, the two Passions are described: each is made of ten pieces, woven in gold, silver and silk.7 Most of them would unfortunately go up in smoke in the fire of Dresden castle in 1701. However, two tapestries of this ‘New Passion’ survived, the Last Supper and the Ascension [7], and they deserve to be further investigated.8
7
Anonymous (Brussels) after Michiel Coxcie (?)
The Ascension from the (New) Passion, c. 1540-1555
Wool, silk, silver- and gilt-metal-wrapped thread, 305 x 292 cm
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, no. 44.63.5
Notes
1 See Paris 1973-1974, no. 17; Cetto 1977; Delmarcel 1999, p. 50 and 53; Terjanian 2019, no. 70. The tapestry will be part of a special exhibition in Valenciennes (Fall-Winter 2022).
2 Kühnel 2004; Syndram et al. 2014. On his residence in Wittenberg, see Helten et al. 2020.
3 Duverger 1970.
4 See Delmarcel 1999, p. 74.
5 Emmrich 1963; Delmarcel 1999, p. 74.
6 The ‘Square’ Passion. Design by Bernard van Orley, woven in the workshop of Peter de Pannemaker, Brussels, ca. 1518-1520. Wool, silk, and gilt-metal-wrapped thread, ca. 345 x 345 cm. Patrimonio Nacional, series 10. See Junquera/Herrero Carretero 1986, p. 49-53; Delmarcel 1992.
7 Kumsch 1913.
8 The Last Supper and the Ascension from the (New) Passion. Design by Michiel Coxcie (?), woven in Brussels, c. 1540-1555. Wool, silk, silver- and gilt-metal-wrapped thread, 312 / 305 x 292 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. 44.63.4-5). See Standen 1985, no. 15. A similar Ascension tapestry is preserved in Munich (Staatliche Verwaltung der Bayerischen Schlösser, Seen und Gärten, Schloss Neuburg an der-Donau, BSV, WA. 0061) perhaps once belonged to Ottheinrich, elector of the Palatinate.