A New Perspective on Mary of Hungary’s Labours of Hercules Tapestries (Patrimonio Nacional, series 23)

Abstract

peer reviewedThis article aims to shed new light on the twelve-piece set purchased in 1535 by the Governor of the former Netherlands, Mary of Hungary, from the Dermoyen workshop in Brussels. We shall see how this series’ success led the Flemish workshops to carry out numerous re-editions until the end of the century. The paper focuses on four main themes: the existing pieces and their iconography, the manufacture that woven them, the artists who provided the models to the weavers and finally the patron who chose the subject and gave these tapestries a precise function in her interior