A Brussels tapestry of the Crossing of the Granicus from the story of Alexander the great, after designs by Charles Le Brun, woven by the workshop of Jos de Vos 18th century

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Description

height 11ft. 6 1/2 in.; width 18ft. 5in.
(3.52m; 5.61m)

representing Alexander on his steed, Bucephalus, fighting Memnon, within trompe l’oeil frame border.

Provenance

Sold, Sotheby’s Monaco, December 11, 1990, lot 213

Literature

RELATED LITERATURE
Maurice Fenaille, Les Tapisseries des Gobelins, Paris, 1903, vol. 2 H.C. Marillier, Les Tapisseries de Hampton Court, 1962, p. 28, n°381-387
Charles Le Brun, Catalogue de l’exposition, Versailles, 1963, n°10 Michel Gareau, Charles Le Brun, Premier pientre de Louis XIV, New York, 1992, p. 208

Catalogue Note

The original designs for the set of tapestries of the History of Alexander were made by Charles Le Brun and exhibited at the Salon du Louve in 1673.

A series of five panels illustrating the history of Alexander the Great was subsequently woven in the newly established Gobelins workshops. The designs were also used in Brussels in the workshops of J.F. van den Hecke, G. Peemans and Jos de Vos.
A set of seven tapestries from the series of Alexander woven by the workshop of Jos de Vos and including “The Crossing of the Granique” is in the Queen’s Gallery at Hampton Court. That series has the same border as the present example.

The first battle of Alexander and the Persians took place on the shores of the Granique, near Troy, May 334 B.C.