Galerie Chevalier puts antique tapestries on sale

19/9/23 - Art market - Paris - To obtain the keys to paradise, do we have to give up the laurels of glory? Not necessarily. Salvation and fame are both available at the Galerie Chevalier. Among the sumptuous tapestries on the walls, one shows Saint Peter kneeling before Christ, who gives him the keys to the kingdom of heaven (ill. 1); he embodies Ordination, one of the seven sacraments represented by Nicolas Poussin and which inspired the creation of a hanging. Several versions were woven, and this one was made in Brussels in the early 17th-century, probably from engravings. Another composition from this group can be seen: the Sacrament of Marriage, illustrated by the union of Mary and Joseph. Next to it, the Triumph of Titus and Vespasian after the capture of Jerusalem was woven after Charles Poerson in Brussels in the second half of the 17th-century (ill. 2). The Louvre holds some of the pieces in the series, which tells the story of the founder of the Flavian dynasty and his son.

1. After Nicolas Poussin (1594 - 1665)
Christ Hands the Keys to Saint Peter or the Sacrament of Ordination
Tapestry forming part of a hanging on the Seven Sacraments,
Brussels tapestry, first half of the 17th-century
Probably from the workshop of Pieter van den Hecke, active from 1703 to 1752
Wool and silk - 330 x 390 cm
Paris, Galerie Chevalier
Photo: Galerie Chevalier

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Céline Letissier and Amélie-Margot Chevalier took over the reins of the gallery a few years ago, following in the footsteps of their parents Dominique Chevalier and Nicole de Pazzis-Chevalier. Today, they have chosen to devote themselves entirely to the textile arts of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and to Parsua rugs, offering works by Lurçat and Vasarely, as well as contemporary creations by Françoise Paressant and Victoria Tanto. Although they are not abandoning antique tapestries altogether, they are now reserving them for a brokerage activity. The…