bavarikon4UWirkteppich, Pfalzgraf Philipp der Streitbare (aus der Serie der Neuburger Bildnisteppiche)
Description
This tapestry portrait of Count Palatine Philipp the Contentious (1503-1548) is one of a series of three large-scale tapestries, related in style and subject matter, that are among the most valuable items in the collection of the Historischer Verein Neuburg an der Donau (Historical Association Neuburg on the Danube). The other two are portraits of Count Palatine Ottheinrich (T 0175) and his spouse Countess Susanna (T 0373). The designs and cartoons are attributed to the Neuburg court painter Peter Gertner (c. 1495 – after 1541); the costly tapestries were woven in Brussels.
Commissioned by Ottheinrich, the only tapestry not to be dated depicts his brother Philipp as coregent in a pose very similar to his own: powerful and self-confident, in the centre of an idyllic garden with animals and plants against the backdrop of a panoramic landscape. The border of the precious tapestry bears the same coats of arms as the portrait of Ottheinrich: Palatinate-Bavaria, Savoy, Mazovia, Saxony and Habsburg. These document Philipp's noble descent. The Philipp tapestry is the only one in the series with an almost entirely preserved weaver's mark. This has allowed all tapestries to be attributed to the Brussels master Jan de Roy the Elder (c. 1470 - after 1536).
Tapestries were among the most precious objects that could be produced at the time, and Ottheinrich used them as an expression of status and prestige and as valuable additions to his collection.
Author
Eva Gerum M.A., Historischer Verein Neuburg an der Donau