RIPANO EUPERINO | ROME, MARCH 14 2025
Polonius, Ophelia’s father, hides behind the tapestry in Elsinore Castle to spy on Hamlet. The prince, unaware of his identity, stabs and kills him. But how? One might ask. Behind the tapestry? Yes, because, as in Shakespeare’s tragedy, large tapestries were placed away from the walls to conceal secret doors or, when necessary, provide cover for various purposes.
(Hamlet kills Polonius)
Tapestries were common in castles, palaces, and large churches. In addition to serving a magnificent aesthetic function, they also helped retain warmth in rooms. Moreover, unlike frescoes, they could easily be removed for safekeeping or transferred elsewhere.
A tapestry is a special textile handmade on high-warp looms (entirely by hand, with fine craftsmanship) or low-warp looms (using foot pedals to speed up the process at the expense of detail). On the loom, the vertical threads (usually made of hemp or linen) form the warp, while the horizontal threads, woven through the warp, create the weft. The weft threads, made of wool, silk, or cotton, and sometimes even gold or silver, form the design that covers the entire surface of the tapestry.
(Cartoon for the Barberini tapestries)
The process of making tapestries, still similar to that of the 14th century, begins with the design of the model, known as the “cartoon”. These cartoons were created by great painters such as Raphael, Rubens, Le Brun, Goya, Miró, and Picasso. The weaving process is extremely time-consuming, often requiring months of work. Tapestries should not be confused with textiles, which are mechanically produced and repeat the same design multiple times, nor with carpets, which have a completely different warp and weft structure of lower quality.
(National Etruscan Museum of Chiusi, Attic Skyphos by the Penelope Painter)
The history of tapestries is ancient, tracing back to Pharaonic Egypt and Classical Greece. An Etruscan vase from the 4th century BC depicts Penelope working on a loom not very different from those used in the 14th century. It was during this period that tapestry-making flourished in Europe. The craft first developed in Germany and Switzerland before expanding to France and Flanders. The Renaissance was the golden age of tapestry production, with important centers in Arras, Paris, and Aubusson. In the 17th century, the French Crown absorbed the main tapestry workshops. The Royal Manufacture of Gobelins (1662) and the Royal Manufacture of Beauvais (1604) continue to produce tapestries to this day.
The end of the Ancien Régime marked a turning point for a culture where tapestry held a significant role. The sans-culottes burned them out of hatred for the nobility but also to extract gold and silver from the woven threads. The Industrial Revolution, with its lengthy production times, led to the closure of many tapestry workshops: in Italy, theManifattura di San Carlo alle Mortelle in Naples closed in 1798, the Turin workshop in 1813, and the Pontifical Factory of San Michele a Ripa was sustained by the government until 1910.
In Rome, painter and tapestry artist Erulo Eroli (1854–1916) founded a workshop and school for tapestry-making in the late 19th century. The son of Marquis Pio, a noble guard and sculptor, he learned the art of tapestry at San Michele alongside his father. Witnessing the inevitable decline of the Pontifical Factory, he first opened a painting studio on Passeggiata di Ripetta and then, in 1880, a tapestry workshop on Via del Babuino, employing artisans from the San Michele Factory to preserve a treasure trove of craftsmanship.
(At auction – Important Flemish Tapestry, late 16th – early 17th century, Biblical scene)
In the early 1980s, Erulo Eroli’s grandson, a refined individual with a deep passion for art, had preserved the workshop on Via del Babuino in its original state. Entering it felt like stepping back in time. In the dim light, the ancient parquet creaked, while 19th-century furniture, paintings, and art objects evoked a bygone era. Walking through the rooms led to the workshop, where antique looms and rolls of colored threads were still used by elderly master weavers to restore tapestries from the Quirinal Palace.
It is unfortunate that, in Italy, while great attention is given to artifacts of little value, institutions allow extraordinary places like Eroli’s workshop to disappear without state intervention.
A large and important Flemish tapestry from the late 16th century will be auctioned by ANSUINI1860 ASTE on March 19, 2025.