Brussels tapestries

Brussels tapestries. Tapestries woven at factories in Brussels, which during the 16th and 17th centuries was one of the most important centres in Europe for the art. Production of tapestries began in the city in the 14th century or possibly earlier, and in 1447 tapestry weavers formed their own guild, independent of other woolworkers. By this time Brussels tapestries were being exported to Italy, and an indication of the renown they enjoyed is that Leo X ( Giovanni de' Medici) had Raphael's tapestry designs for the Sistine Chapel sent to Brussels to be woven (1516–19) in the workshop of Pieter van Aelst (d c.1530) (not to be confused with Pieter Coecke van Aelst). The original set of ten tapestries is now in the Vatican Museums; several more sets were woven over the next two decades. The great fame of these tapestries not only definitively established Brussels's pre-eminence in the field, but also marked a turning point in the history of the art, for henceforth the designer of the tapestry was accorded greater status than the weavers. In the 17th century Rubens made numerous such designs and his prestige was an important factor in the continuing international success of Brussels tapestries. After the reorganization of the Gobelins factory in 1662 the leadership in tapestry production moved to Paris, but Brussels continued to be an important centre for the art into the 18th century.