Artwork Page for Four Seasons

Details / Information for Four Seasons

Four Seasons

designed c. 1535, woven mid- to late 1600s
manufacturer

possibly by Gobelins Manufactory

(France, Paris, est. 1662)
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Culture
France
Medium
Wool, silk, and gold filé; tapestry weave
Measurements
Average: 256.5 x 264.2 cm (101 x 104 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Francis Ginn, Marian Ginn Jones, Barbara Ginn Griesinger, and Alexander Ginn in memory of Frank Hadley Ginn and Cornelia Root Ginn 1952.544
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

At the time of the Four Seasons's production, weavers at the Gobelins Manufactory in Paris were paid on a wage-scale based on the difficulty of the weaving; those who wove heads and flesh tones were paid the most.

Description

Each of these tapestries depict rustic activities appropriate to the season: fishing and gardening for spring, harvesting of grain in summer, wine making for autumn, and ice skating for winter. As tapestries fell out of vogue in the 1700s and 1800s many were burned so their metal threads could be harvested to mint new coins. Before coming to the Cleveland Museum of Art, these tapestries hung in the family home of Frank H. Ginn and Cornelia Root Ginn in Gates Mills, Ohio. Their children donated the tapestries to the museum in 1952.
Four tapestries, two roughly square shaped and two longer rectangles, depict people with light skin tones wearing muted red and blue clothing and engaging in seasonal activities. From left to right, people fish by a bridge, harvest wheat with scythes, stamp on grapes in a barrel, and skate in front of a palace. Some of the original vibrancy of the tapestries has faded away.

Four Seasons

designed c. 1535, woven mid- to late 1600s

Gobelins Manufactory

(France, Paris, est. 1662)
France

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