RENAISSANCE TAPESTRIES
FROM VIENNA
Six of the eight tapestries are part of a set once owned by the Holy
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Roman Emperor Matthias I (1557-1619). To complete the sequence
of the legend, the Kunsthistorisches Museum has included two
tapestries from another set in their collection. These belonged to King
Francis I (1708–1765) Holy Roman Emperor, Grand Duke of Tuscany
and Duke of Lorraine. Francis I was the founder of the HabsburgLorraine dynasty with his wife Maria Theresa, last of the Hapsburg
dynasty and daughter of Emperor Charles VI and the only female
ruler of the Habsburg dominions. Both Matthias I and Maria Theresa
were descended from the House of Hapsburg, one of the most
important royal houses of Europe. It is best known for being the
source of all the elected Holy Roman Emperors (between 1438-1740)
as well as rulers of the Austrian and Spanish Empires and several
other countries. Despite its name, for most of its history the Holy
Roman Empire did not include Rome within its borders. The title
derived from an alliance made with the papacy which required the
coronation of the emperor by the Pope. For King Matthias and subsequent Habsburg emperors, these tapestries, displayed prominently,
served an important role in conveying powerful messages about the
roots of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg family.
This exhibition was organized by International Arts and Artists in
conjunction with the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria.
The tapestry collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum is regarded
as one of the most magnificent of its kind. The richness and artistic
quality of the tapestries place the collection among the most
important in the world. Now owned by the Austrian state, these
tapestries once belonged to the former royal family and were
acquired by the museum after the collapse of the monarchy.
Presenting Sponsors
Family Medicine Centers of South Carolina, P.A.
Joye Cottage Foundation, Aiken, SC
Anonymous Donor
Supporting Sponsors
Dr. Suzan D. Boyd and Mr. M. Edward Sellers
Clifford and Janette Hospital
Ms. Ada H. McIver
Lecture: History, Metaphor, Narrative:
Storytelling in the Romulus and Remus Tapestries
Sunday, August 22 | 3:00 p.m.
Free courtesy of BlueCross BlueShield of SC
Professor Carlton Hughes looks carefully at the imagery of
the Renaissance tapestries from the Kunsthistorisches Museum
and others in light of the circumstances and ambitions of their
original owners. Educated at Harvard and the University of North
Carolina, Dr. Hughes has been assistant professor of Renaissance
and Baroque art history at the University of South Carolina since
2004. His special interest is the way that works of art relate to the
hopes, fears and dreams of their beholders.
Romulus Captured and Brought before Amulius, detail, Brussels, Workshop of Frans Geubels, c. 1560,
wool, silk, silver, and gold, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
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