Back Tenture des Valois French Tapeta Valesia Latin Valoistapijten Dutch Tapeçarias Valois Portuguese
The Valois Tapestries are a series of eight large tapestries depicting festivities or "magnificences"[1] held by Catherine de' Medici's Royal Courts in the second half of the 16th century. The tapestries were primarily modeled on drawings by Antoine Caron,[2] but to Caron's distant views of large panoramas crowded with figures much larger portraits of leading persons at the French court have been added in the foreground, usually to the side, as well as elaborate borders.
They were produced by teams of weavers in the Spanish Netherlands, probably in Brussels or Antwerp,[3] shortly after 1580. A number of great artists and artisans worked on the creation of these tapestries but today we are left with nothing but theories and speculation to their identities. Scholars such as Frances Yates and Jean Coural have developed nuanced theories backed by solid evidence to identify these unknown contributors, and also the political meaning of the tapestries, but research has yet to confirm many of these findings.[4][5] These works display surprisingly intimate and personal moments within the royal inner circle clashing against the busy backdrops of these lavish festivals.
The tapestries are now in the Uffizi Museum in Florence, Italy.