Important tapestry, Apollo Et Cupidon, Atelier du Faubourg St Marcel, circa 1635-1650

This important tapestry was woven in the 1st half of the 17th century in one of the Parisian workshops run by de Comans in the Faubourg Saint Marcel (a workshop which, along with others, was to form the future Manufacture Royale des Gobelins from 1662).

The subject of this tapestry is a condensed version of two mythological episodes, both recounted in the first book of Ovid's Metamorphoses* and depicted here in a unifying woodland landscape.
These mythological episodes are a pretext for demonstrating the high quality of execution of the weavers in these Parisian workshops, and the intelligence of the cartonnier, who proposes a narrative firmly anchored in a verdant setting, echoing the traditions of the art of tapestry with its greenery.
The tapestry's original wide border is highly decorative. It is highly charged, evoking the rich decorations of the Regency period. Its decorative program is richly ornamented, with a predilection for certain motifs such as cut-out leathers, amours and shells. Cupids and laurel wreaths allude to Cupid and Apollo respectively. The moderate polychromy of this border is in harmony with the landscape of the central composition.

In this way, we can observe the high quality of the drawing, which is meticulous, with a real search for depth thanks to the succession of different planes. Also noteworthy is the finesse of execution (8 threads/cm) by the weavers, who, with great meticulousness, have succeeded in retranscribing the smallest details.
A closer look at this tapestry brings it into line with the Métamorphoses hangings woven in Parisian workshops, particularly that of Alexandre de Comans, who directed the faubourg Saint-Marcel manufacture from 1635 to 1654 (see SAUNIER, Bruno, ed. Lisses et délices. Masterpieces of tapestry from Henri IV to Louis XIV. Paris, 1996. p. 192-197).

Good condition, lined, some halos to be noted (Cf photos)
Dimensions: Height: 288 cm, Length: 382 cm

*The scene depicted in the foreground is recounted in the Metamorphoses (1, 262-262) in which Apollo (here depicted on the right, seated cross-legged, with long wavy golden hair, a halo of sunbeams around his head, a purple drape, carrying a lyre in his left hand, index finger raised to speak) addresses Cupid (shown here in the center, walking in the opposite direction, his bow in his right hand, while his left, positioned behind his back, supports his quiver), looking down at him: "Weak child, what are you doing with those heavy weapons? This quiver suits only the shoulder of the god who can strike sure blows at ferocious beasts as well as at his enemies, and who has just brought down, with a hail of arrows, that monster whose belly, swollen with so many poisons, covered so many acres of land. Content yourself with lighting, with your torch, I don't know what amorous flames, and beware of claiming my triumphs."

The second scene in the left background refers to another episode in the first book (1, 267-268), when Mercury (shown here with his helmet and winged sandals) seizes his sword to kill Argus (shown here asleep on a rock).
Argus had been commissioned by Juno to watch over the nymph Io, transformed into a heifer by her lover Jupiter. Sent by Jupiter, Mercury lulled the shepherd to sleep with the sound of his flute to rescue Io.
"But just as he was about to give this account, the god who was born on Mount Cyllene noticed that Argus, succumbing to sleep, had closed all his eyes. He ceases to speak, and touching them with his mighty wand, weighs down the poppies with which they are laden. Suddenly, with his curved sword, he cuts off the monster's tilted head where it joins the neck; hurled from the top of the mountain, the trunk rolls away, soiling the bloody rock as it falls."

Ref: VESPCKVGNG