The Pavia Tapestries…. In Person!

[TobJohn]

The Pavia Tapestries are currently a traveling exhibit and I was able to see them at the De Young. They are some of my favorite art, so seeing them was a real treat. In person, they are very imposing and breathtakingly detailed.

I didn’t get a great photo of the entirety of the first one and if any of the faces of the other patrons are too clear, please let me know and I will delete.

One of the most rewarding parts of seeing the tapestries in persons is that the perspective is designed to be viewed looking up from the front middle. That way, the battle extends out into the distance. Seeing images on the computer does not have the same effect

 

[TobJohn]

And of course, the most important part, arquebuses!

 

[TobJohn]

A detail I have never noticed before, is that several of the arquebuses have trigger guards and modern style triggers. While this did exist at the time, the majority of the guns in tapestry have button triggers.

This gun looks to have a button trigger AND a modern trigger. Did Bernard make a mistake?

 

[BillinOregon]

Fabulous! I'd love to see them in person as well!
I haven't been to the DeYoung since high school when the Van Gogh exhibit was there. I haven't forgotten that one and never will.

 

[TobJohn]

Fabulous! I'd love to see them in person as well!
I haven't been to the DeYoung since high school when the Van Gogh exhibit was there. I haven't forgotten that one and never will.

It’s an amazing museum and it’s location is stunning!

The exhibit is traveling around the US, so it may be somewhere near you in the future!

 

[Jaeger]

The clothing they wore was pretty.......well.........ridiculous. I guess slits were "in".

 

[TobJohn]

The clothing they wore was pretty.......well.........ridiculous. I guess slits were "in".

Don’t forget the tights! Can’t intimidate your enemies without your colorful man tights!

 

[Dusty_Traveler]

That is amazing!!!! I love getting to see history firsthand like that.

 

[waarp8nt]

And of course, the most important part, arquebuses!
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Very nice! Thank you for posting!!!

The clothing they wore was pretty.......well.........ridiculous. I guess slits were "in".

Don’t forget the tights! Can’t intimidate your enemies without your colorful man tights!

Many men died that day gasping for air as they laughed themselves to death at the ridiculousness of the enemies attire.

 

[Sam squanch]

Don’t forget the tights! Can’t intimidate your enemies without your colorful man tights!

Funny, the TOUGHEST kid in my high school would hang out in parking lots at night waiting for others to challenge him. He wore sweat pants with balloons and flowers on them, his opponents from out of town thought he was an easy mark…..WRONG!!!!

 

[Sam squanch]

He’s here to provide the battle music!

 

[The Miner '49er]

Thank you, TobJohn, what an exhibit! Your photos made me want to learn more. On YouTube I found a seven minute clip from the Kimbell entitled The Battle of Pavia Tapestries: A Masterpiece in Messaging. It's worth viewing for many reasons, especially for showing the enormous size of the panels. Wow!

 

[Sam squanch]

Imagine the handwork that the tapestry required!! I hope they had a well lit room.

 

[rickystl]

Thanks for posting these photos. Amazing detail. Is there any estimate of the time it took to complete ? If the museum plans to do a traveling tour, how could one find the schedule ?

Rick

 

[TobJohn]

There are also some goofy details in the tapestries, like a monkey riding a horse!

 

[TobJohn]

Thanks for posting these photos. Amazing detail. Is there any estimate of the time it took to complete ? If the museum plans to do a traveling tour, how could one find the schedule ?

Rick

I couldn’t find the full tour schedule, but the next stop is Houston:
https://www.mfah.org/exhibitions/knights-in-shining-armor-the-pavia-tapestries

The tapestries normally reside in Italy, but they were recently renovated for this tour.

 

[TobJohn]

The exhibit also had arms and armor on display. It was almost all 25-75 year later than the battle, but I’m not going to complain about arms and armor in an art museum!

The guns are all from a museum in Naples. About a year ago, I emailed the museum for pictures of the top gun, because it was listed in a book I have and I own an Italian wheellock with two dogs. Unfortunately, they only had really low def photos. When I turned the corner and saw it unexpectedly on display, it was like a second Christmas, lol! I have photos of some other angles of the wheellocks, but they are kind of awkward and glare heavy. I can share if anyone is particularly interested.

 

[Codger Craig Wilcox]

Forgive my ignorance, but what battle(s) are depicted?

Back in 1951-53, Dad (Naval officer) was stationed in London, Great Britain. He took me to many fine old castles, almost all replete with displays of armor. I always wondered why there was no rust on the polished steel.

 

[TobJohn]

Forgive my ignorance, but what battle(s) are depicted?

Back in 1951-53, Dad (Naval officer) was stationed in London, Great Britain. He took me to many fine old castles, almost all replete with displays of armor. I always wondered why there was no rust on the polished steel.

It’s the battle of Pavia, in 1525. The Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, commissioned these to commemorate his victory over Francis I of France. To us muzzleloading nerds, the battle is important because it is often considered the ascendency of guns on the battlefield, due to their success in the open, particularly against the French Cavalry.

 

[Codger Craig Wilcox]

It’s the battle of Pavia, in 1525. The Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, commissioned these to commemorate his victory over Francis I of France. To us muzzleloading nerds, the battle is important because it is often considered the ascendency of guns on the battlefield, due to their success in the open, particularly against the French Cavalry.

Many thanks.
The monkey on the saddle, escaped from it's cage, was a rib-tickler.