[Sidenote: Exhibited: _Detroit Museum of Fine Arts_, 1919.]
[Sidenote: Lent by _Dikran K. Kelekian_.]
The rendition of a coat of arms in tapestry is difficult, because the decorative value of heraldic devices depends almost entirely on the beauty of the line-drawing, and tapestry, because of the character of the weave and the surface, is not a good medium for clean lines. In the earlier periods, therefore, the shield was usually made incidental to a design better adapted to tapestry (cf. No. 9). It was only well into the XVIIIth century that the bearings could be woven delicately enough to let them stand alone.
IMPERIAL RUSSIAN TAPESTRY WORKS, ST. PETERSBURG, 1811
_Wool and Silk._ H. 9 _ft._ 4 _in._ W. 6 _ft._ 7 _in._ ]
CATHERINE THE GREAT: _Catherine stands in her robes of state holding the sceptre while the Imperial crown rests on a stool beside her. On the wall is the Russian motto, NACHATOYE SOVERCHAYET ("What is begun is accomplished"). It is signed and dated._
[Sidenote: Exhibited: _Metropolitan Museum_, 1912.]
For sheer technical skill the rendition of this portrait is unsurpassable. The representation of textures is remarkable, quite on a par with the cleverest paintings of the period.
_The Arms of France and Navarre_ No. 67 ]
[Sidenote: Illustrated: _Hunter, Tapestries_, pl. 229; also, _Candee, Tapestry Book_, opp. p. 133,--but wrongly attributed to the Gobelins.]
[Sidenote: Lent by _P. W. French & Company_.]
It is, in truth, an absolutely perfect reproduction of a painting--a painting, moreover, that from the character of all the accessories is particularly difficult to render in wool; and while it is by no means the business of tapestry to imitate painting, it is nevertheless an interesting display of remarkable virtuosity. The personal power of the forceful old Empress is strongly presented. From every aspect this is one of the greatest portraits in a woven medium. In general color tone the piece has remained faithful to the character of tapestry, sustaining the rich quality that the solid texture demands. In spite, also, of the need for many delicately graded values to render the stuffs and the modeling, the weavers have kept the color in large enough masses to be broadly decorative.