“Italian Renaissance” presents musicians, acrobats, and exotic animals within a fanciful architectural setting. This tapestry is one of a set known as the grotesques. The light hearted subject matter and whimsical design contrast with the heavier, ornate style that had characterized French tapestry during the third quarter of the seventeenth century. The series enjoyed immense popularity during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, and the Beauvais workshop produced many weavings for French clients.
