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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1941.129
People
Unidentified Artist
Title
Fifth and Sixth Articles of the Apostles Creed
Other Titles
Former Title: The Ascension (Christ Appearing to his Mother)
Classification
Textile Arts
Work Type
tapestry
Date
early 16th century
Places
Creation Place: Europe, Belgium, Brussels
Culture
Flemish
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/230285

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Wool and silk
Dimensions
317.5 x 335.5 cm (125 x 132 1/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Castle of Evora, Portugal; M. Fernand Schutz (Paris); Georges J. Demotte (Paris), sale 1924; P.W. French and Company (New York); Mrs. Felix M. Warburg, Gift to the Fogg Art Museum, 1941.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Mrs. Felix M. Warburg in commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of Mr. Felix M. Warburg's birth
Accession Year
1941
Object Number
1941.129
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
This tapestry is a fragment (right side) of the second tapestry in a series depicting the Apostles Creed. The series shows events from the life of Christ in combination with portrayals of the Prophets and the Apostles. On the left is the apostle Thomas whose banderole displays the fifth article of the Creed: Desce[n]dit ad inferna tertia die resurrexit (He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again.) This text is illustrated by two scenes: The Resurrection in the upper left corner and the appearance of the Resurrected Christ to his mother in the bottom center. The central scene is flanked on the right by the Prophet Amos and the Apostle James the Less. Amos holds a banderole which reads: "Ipse est [qui] edificat ascensionem suam incelo" ("It is he that buildeth his Ascension in Heaven." Amos 9:6). The Apostle James holds a banderole which records the sixth article of the Creed: ascendit ad caeolos. Sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis (He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father). This article is visualized in two scenes. The Ascension of Christ appears in the center of the upper tier of the composition, placed directly above the pavilion containing the scene of Christ appearing to his mother. In the upper right corner, we see Christ enthroned as part of the Trinity. The Trinity is surrounded by Justice and music-making angels at the top and the apostles at the bottom. This scene is framed by a border of stylized clouds that highlights the division between the earthly and heavenly realm.

Publication History

  • D. T. B. Wood, "'Credo' Tapestries (Concluded)", Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs (1914), v. 24, n. 132, pp. 309-311, 314-317
  • G. J. Demotte, La Tapisserie Gothique (Paris and New York, 1924), p. 3, plate 42
  • Adolph S. Cavallo, "Scenes from the Childhood of Christ: A Late Gothic Tapestry", Fogg Art Museum Annual Report, 1956-1957, Fogg Art Museum (1957), p. 35, note 12
  • Jean-Paul Asselberghs, Les tapisseries flamandes aux états-unis d'amérique, Musées royaux d'Art et d'Histoire (Brussels, 1974), pp. 14-16

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Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu