Chateau de Chaumont Set (1512–1515): Art, History and Details

Chateau de Chaumont Set (1512–1515) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Louise of Savoy (1476-1531), queen mother of King Francis I, is depicted here in a sumptuous brocaded velvet in the center. She addresses youthful figures including Éléonore, Pierre Sala’s daughter who is facing her future husband, Hector. On the right, King Louis XII (died 1514) stands in front of the Chateau Langais where he had married Anne of Brittany. Above is Hector’s deceased father with a partially concealed skull under his robe, while a woman expresses surprise at the sight. The verse in Old French at the top states that youthful happiness is not eternal: Youth makes sounds as long as its heart is healthy, And thinks that it holds all in its hand. But this triumph is not eternal. Here you see clearly an example: He that is happy has death in his breast. Of this you people should take note.

Object facts

• Title: Chateau de Chaumont Set
• Date: 1512–1515
• Culture: France, Lyon(?), early 16th century
• Type: Tapestry
• Technique: silk and wool; tapestry weave
• Dimensions: Average: 321.8 x 452 cm (126 11/16 x 177 15/16 in.)
• Collection: Textiles
• Department: Textiles
• Accession number: 1960.176

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Cleveland Museum of Art, “Recent Acquisition Press Release,” December 13, 1960, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
• Shepherd, Dorothy G. "Three Tapestries from Chaumont." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 48, no. 7 (1961): 159-77
• Saisselin, Remy G. "Literary Background of the Chaumont Tapestries." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 48, no. 7 (1961).

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.