Habsburg Treasures
Renaissance Tapestries from the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Organized by the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna; circulated by International Arts & Artists
January 16–April 11, 2010

 

The tapestry collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, is one of the greatest in existence.  Richly woven with silk, wool, and gold thread, these eight gigantic wall hangings were made for the Hapsburg emperors at the famous Brussels atelier of Frans Geubels.  They depict one of the most beloved secular themes in the 16th-century repertoire of Flemish tapestry-making: the legendary founding of ancient Rome by Romulus and Remus. The series begins with the birth of the two brothers, when they were placed in a basket and set afloat on the Tiber River, and ends with the legendary Rape of the Sabine Women.

Left Image: The Founding of Rome [detail], about 1565/70. Brussels, Workshop of Frans Geubels.  Wool,  silk, silver, and gold, 11 ft. 10 in. x 10 ft. 5 in. (360 x 318 cm). Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, T VIII/6 
Right Image: The Founding of Rome, about 1565/70. Brussels, Workshop of Frans Geubels.  Wool, silk, silver,  and gold, 11 ft. 10 in. x 10 ft. 5 in. (360 x 318 cm). Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, T VIII/6

Habsburg Treasures: Renaissance Tapestries from the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna is developed by the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Kunstkammer and is organized for tour by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC.
Local presentation of this exhibition is made possible in part through the generosity of Sir Thomas R. Moore and Sarah Chapin Langham, John and Priscilla Richman, the Mr. and Mrs. Hamish Maxwell Exhibition Endowment and the Gioconda and Joseph King Endowment for Exhibitions.
Media support provided by The Palm Beach Post and Palm Beach Daily News.