Stephen Montoya
When most people think about status symbols, it usually means a luxury car, an expensive pair of shoes, or a new tech gadget for your wrist. But in sixteenth century era Europe, if you didn’t have a giant tapestry depicting a major battle you or your family were involved in, then you weren’t part of the “in” crowd.
This very real historical fact is one of many art buffs, history fans, and plain curious people will experience when entering the Kimbell Art Museum’s newest exhibit “Art & War In the Renaissance: The Battle of Pavia Tapestries.” The objects on display at this breathtaking exhibition, which runs from June 16 — September 15, consist of seven twenty-eight feet long, fourteen feet high tapestries that tell a dramatic story of a sixteenth century battle that lasted a little over two hours in what is now Italy. These ornate woven pieces of art consist of strands of gold and silver threads that still sheen in the light depicting a panoramic view of the entire battle in all its gory detail.
Beside these awe-inspiring pieces of woven art are some authentic real-life weapons that are depicted in each woven illustration. Shielded behind several glass cases rest a series of giant metallic swords, pikes, early rifles, and armor worn by the soldiers from this very period. All of these items, which are here for the very first time on U.S. soil, give patrons a very real sense of what it must’ve been like in a battle circa the 16th Century.
“These tapestries are among the most important works of art in the Renaissance, but because they're not a painting on a wall someplace or a sculpture, they have been almost forgotten except to people who study the subject,” says George Shackelford, deputy director at the Kimbell.
According to Shackelford, a tapestry was among one of the most expensive things a family in this era could be given. In fact, he verified that it would take a group of artists eighteen months to complete three of these woven works of art at a time. The irony of this is, that these seven tapestries were completed in just over six years, which was considered record time by Renaissance era standards.
“This set of tapestries inaugurated a completely new way for tapestries to be woven in the Netherlands in Brussels,” he says. “Never before had tapestries had this kind of spatial quality of three dimensionality — the sort of almost bird's eye view where we're looking right at people — but we're also being able to look deep into the background to a horizon line that stretches all the way around the cycle right up by the top border.”
So, what’s being depicted in these tapestries and what is its significance?
Research indicates that these seven tapestries were created to honor Roman Emperor Charles V (1500 to 1558) who was the most powerful man in Europe circa 1531. These tapestries were gifted to Charles V upon his first visit to the Low Countries, which consisted of modern-day Germany, and Austria, located to the north of the Italian peninsula, as well as Naples to the south and Spain to the west. When Charles V addressed the State’s General on March 2, 1531, at Coudenberg Palace, he was presented with a gift considered more luxurious than a painting, or a golden trophy. Instead, the Emperor was presented with a set of seven intricately woven tapestries depicting the Battle of Pavia.
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The Battle of Pavia itself occurred six years earlier on February 24, 1525. Under their king Francois I, French forces laid siege to the city of Pavia to assert control over the Duchy of Milan to extend France’s power to the east and south. However, this plan was foiled when Charles V descended upon the French army in an attempt to break the siege, which he did in the matter of a couple of hours. The outcome was of major significance, since many of the soldiers in the French army were killed. To add insult to victory, Francois I was taken prisoner, which lead to his captivity in Madrid for a year.
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This significant victory is captured in all of its nuance over the space of these seven tapestries, that include a first-ever three-dimensional view of the event immortalized in thread.
Besides these tapestries being a first for a new art style depicting epic battles, the weaponry used in this battle also played a first for its era. The Battle of Pavia was the very first skirmish to use a type of rifle called the Archus. This was significant for the fact that calvaries normally used lances to lead a charge with, which outnumbered Charles’ army. But Charles V had several rifles at the ready, which cut through Frances front line, helping him and his troops win the battle.
Nancy Edwards, curator of European art/head of academic services at the Kimbell says, there were around 25,000 soldiers on either side that came from various backgrounds like Swiss mercenaries, German foot soldiers and so on.
“It was complicated,” Edwards says. “When we look at these tapestries, we can sort out who's who by their fighting style, the way they're dressed, and by what flags everyone is carrying.”
The best way to tell which force was winning in these tapestries, she says, is to see which group is the biggest and has the most heroic poses. This was a way to spread propaganda before literacy was as abundant as it is now. These tapestries would allow anyone looking at them to see the story of a battle without a single word being written. But words were not devoid in these huge artistic depictions. Artist’s names were hidden in plain sight for the observant to see almost like a Renaissance version of “Where’s Waldo.”
Specific uniforms also played a huge role on the battlefield, so each side knew who they were fighting during the heat of battle.
“The more fabric you wore, because fabric was expensive back then, the more intimidating you would’ve looked,” Edwards says. “Also, you wanted to look sharp and brave.”
All of the scenes depicting this battle were created with strands of gold and silver thread intertwined with other threads to give both sides a luminescent glow, which can also be seen on women’s dresses, knight’s armor, and the weapons caught in mid action.
“We have to imagine it was early in the morning, it was winter, it was wet, it was foggy; you couldn't see a thing,” Edwards says.
During his reign, Charles V held separate but overlapping roles as both ruler of the Habsburg Dynasty, a title he inherited, and Holy Roman Emperor, a position to which he was elected in 1519. Together, his territories extended across much of present-day Europe.
This is why, six years after the Battle of Pavia, the delegates from this area of Europe had these tapestries made; to honor Charles V on this significant victory and do a little bit of what we call in the modern era as — sucking up.
“It was really a sign of honor to be depicted in these for posterity,” Shackelford says. “There really was no other way to chronicle these victories other than to make them into art during the Renaissance.”
