The Triumph of Eternity (from Chateau de Chaumont set) (1512–15): Art, History and Details

The Triumph of Eternity (from Chateau de Chaumont set) (1512–15) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

The Triumph of Eternity is represented by the Coronation of the Virgin. Dressed in crimson velvet with an opulent brocaded velvet shawl, the Virgin is seated in the center as two angels hold a crown over her head. Five musical angels surround her playing an organ, recorder, straight cornetto, harp, and lute, while another sings from an open music book. The scenes in the set display a conservative style in which the figures are placed in shallow landscapes, thereby ignoring pictorial innovations for depicting space and mass. The verse in Old French at the top states: Nothing triumphing by due authority Remains permanent and durable. Nothing is permanent under the heavens, But above, eternity triumphs.

Object facts

• Title: The Triumph of Eternity (from Chateau de Chaumont set)
• Date: 1512–15
• Culture: France, Lyon(?), early 16th century
• Type: Tapestry
• Technique: silk and wool; tapestry weave
• Dimensions: Overall: 319.3 x 377.6 cm (125 11/16 x 148 11/16 in.)
• Collection: Textiles
• Department: Textiles
• Accession number: 1960.176.1

Collection credit

Gift from various donors by exchange

Further reading listed by the museum

• 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).
• Wixom, William D., and Leona E. Prasse. "Traditions in the Chaumont Tapestries." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 48, no. 7 (1961): 182-90.

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.