The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

Mercury tells Aeneas to Leave Carthage

Mercury tells Aeneas to Leave Carthage

1679
(Italian, 1610–1662)
(Flemish, 1679)
Overall: 411 x 337 cm (161 13/16 x 132 11/16 in.)

Did You Know?

This tapestry is one from a series of eight that depicts the tragic love story of Dido and Aeneas. They were gifted to the museum for display in the armor court.

Description

The supreme god, Jupiter, sends his messenger Mercury to the Trojan hero Aeneas to urge him to continue his voyage and leave Carthage in order to fulfil his destiny, to found Rome.
  • before 1695-1899
    Barberini Family, Rome, Italy
    1899-1915
    Charles M. Ffoulke (1849-1909), Washington, D.C.
    1909-before 1915
    Mitchell Samuels of French & Company (1880-1959), New York, NY, sold to Mrs. Francis F. Prentiss
    before 1915-1915
    Mrs. Francis F. Prentiss (1865-1944), Cleveland, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1915-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • W. M. M. "Gothic Art." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 6, no. 4 (1919): 67-70. Mentioned: p. 70 www.jstor.org
    BREMER-DAVID, CHARISSA. "French & Company and American Collections of Tapestries, 1907-1959." Studies in the Decorative Arts 11, no. 1 (2003): 38-68. 40663064
    Brosens, Koenraad, and Yvan Maes de Wit. "The Story of Dido and Aeneas from Cleveland Museum of Art: Tapestry conservation Using Laid-Couching Stitches." In Tapestry Production & Conservation: 125 Years De Wit Royal Manufacturers of Tapestry. Koenraad Brosens, Yvan Maes De Wit, 232-235. London; Turnhout: Harvey Miller Publishers, 2019 Reproduced: p. 232
  • Tapestry restoration 1. Gaspard De Wit/Koninklijke Manufactuur van Wandtapijten n.v (August 19, 1997-August 11, 1998).
  • {{cite web|title=Mercury tells Aeneas to Leave Carthage|url=false|author=Giovanni Francesco Romanelli, Michael Wauters|year=1679|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1915.79.6