El capitán a caballo, from the workshops of François de La Planche and Marc de Comans

 (series La Historia de Artemisia)

Materials: Wool, Silk, Golden and silver threads / Measures: 441 x 419 cm 

MNBA

According to the MNBA, in 1601, Henry IV summoned two Flemish tapestry artists to give birth to France's Royal manufacture of tapestries. It was thus that Franz van den Planken (François de La Planche) and Marc de Comans moved to the old dying workshops of the Gobelin family. Under royal sponsorship, the masters received special privileges and financing in return for preparing new apprentices and opening workshops throughout France.

The previous tapestry, a donation from the Hirsch family to the  MNBA, belonged to the series The  Story of Artemis,  based on a 1562 manuscript by Nicolas Houël (1524-1587), where he made an analogy between Artemis and Catherine of Médici. Artemis was the only woman to reign on the Mediterranean between 353 and 351 b.C. so she was destined to become an inspiration to any European queen. 

The tapestry was commissioned by Victor Amadeo I of Saboya for the ducal palace of Torino. All the pieces belonging to this ensamble can be identified because they carry the coat of arms of the Saboyas on the top edge and Anne of Austria's monogram on the lower edge. Subsequent restorations can be blamed for the lost of the original selvage, so it is impossible to identify the master weaver. 

And speaking of tapestries, there's none as famous as the beautiful The Lady and the Unicorn of the 16th century, which was recently restored and can be seen at the Musée de Cluny. in Paris.

Restoration

The restoration was decided due to the thick dust layer which had made the back fabric totally rigid, tensing the fabric and distorting the images.

Cleaning

The Lady and the Unicorn had already been restored in the 19th century, using a vaccum-technique to remove the dust, and was then taken to Belgium for cleaning. Lost or destroyed threads were replaced.

The series is composed by six tapestries, each of which required the team work of two or three experts during an entire month.

La Dame à la Licorne

Musée Cluny, Paris

This particular panel represents femininity by way of allegories, making reference to the five senses. However, it is still full of mysteries. For example, there's no explanation to the unicorn and why the series is made of 6 tapestries being that the senses are just five. 

The story behind the making of this tapestry was revisited and fictionalized by writer Tracy Chevalier in The Lady and the Unicorn, where she contributed to adding new mysteries.