"Le Père de Famille"

Very rare 16th-century tapestry, first third Part of the "Père de famille" hanging, which included eight tapestries Southern Netherlands, attributed to Tournai Woven in wool and silk, wool warp (6 threads per cm), wool and silk weft Dimensions: H. 2.66 m x W. 2.53 m. Expert: Mme Nicole de Pazzis-Chevalier. Description and iconography Characters are identified by their names in Gothic letters on their clothes or bodies. body. On the left, Earth and Century hold the hands of naked children: a little boy, Lun (the One) and a little girl, Lautre (the Other). The children are warned by the Father of the Family about the dangers of the Temptation, pictured top left; she has a hooked finger, claws that protrude from her clothing and wears a net to trap her victims. She is accompanied by a monkey and a kind of dog with a human head. And on the side of good, we see a unicorn and a griffin. This is an allegory of the struggle between vices and virtues, a very popular theme at the time. Provenance : Private collection, France United States Collection AUCTION HOUSE ESTIMATE: €40,000/€70,000 References - Adelson Candice, 1994, Catalogue European tapestry in the Mineapolis Institute of Arts, p.101 - Blanc Monique, 2019, catalog Tapisseries du Moyen Age et de la Renaissance du Musée des Arts Décoratifs à Paris, page 82 - Göbel Heinrich, 1923, Wandteppiche die Niederlande, tome I, volume II, n°93 - Thomson W.G., 1930, A History of Tapestry from the Earliest Times until the Present Day, p.258 and 260 - Vittet Jean and Brejon de Lavergnée Arnaud, 2010, La Collection de tapisseries de Louis XIV, page 354