Grand design: Pieter Coecke van Aelst and renaissance tapestry

Abstract

Renowned throughout Renaissance Europe, Pieter Coecke (1502-1550) produced works for the wealthiest and most important patrons of the time, including Emperor Charles V, Francois I of France, Henry VIII of England, the Hapsburgs, and Cosimo de Medici. While he is best known for his magnificent tapestries, he was also a consummate artist in other media, and the output from his workshop ranged from painted altarpieces to designs and cartoons for stained glass. This lavish publication, the first monograph specifically devoted to this Renaissance genius, introduces Pieter Coecke to a contemporary audience and restores his place among the great artists of the 16th century. New photographs, including fine details, reunite some of the finest surviving drawings and panel paintings with twenty of the splendid Renaissance tapestries made to his designs, while texts by thirty prominent scholars explore Coecke's art and world. Both a feast for the eyes and an important art historical reappraisal of a great Renaissance master, this important study will stand as the comprehensive volume on a major artist of the Northern Renaissance. - Exhibition: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, USA (7.10.2014-11.1.2015).