Unknown Maker, Italy. Panel from a Valance (Adam and Eve), 1600s, linen plain weave with silk long-armed cross-stitch and back-stitch embroidery, silk needle lace trim. Gift of the Reverend and Mrs. Van S. Merle-Smith, Jr., 1991.
Heaven on Earth: Textiles of the Renaissance & Baroque
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Sun, 10/16/2011 - Sun, 01/08/2012
Goodman Gallery
Heaven on Earth, an accompanying exhibition to Shared Treasure, provides a further introduction to the arts of the Renaissance and Baroque through a group of dramatic textiles drawn from the museum’s extensive textile and costume collection.
Many of the sumptuous textiles of this period relied on the patronage of wealthy consumers, some of whom funded their own textile workshops to assure the quality and uniqueness of what they wore. The church also served as a major patron of the textile arts, commissioning elegant and dramatic liturgical fabrics to give substance and beauty to religious rites. Included in the exhibition will be a selection of representative textiles such as flat and cut velvets, tapestries, embroideries, and laces that reflect the important modes of textile production from the 15th to 18th centuries and an overview of the secular and religious patronage that helped the textile industry to flourish in this period.
Also on view during the fall season will be a selection of religious and secular prints from the museum’s extensive works on paper collection that will showcase the printing arts of this same period and complement the art on view in Shared Treasure.
