Michael Wauters

(Flemish, 1679)

Belgium, 17th century

Tapestry weave: silk and wool

Overall: 414 x 466.5 cm (163 x 183 11/16 in.)

Gift of Mrs. Francis F. Prentiss, in memory of Dr. Dudley P. Allen 1915.79.8

Location

210A Armor Court

Fun Fact

Depicting the tragic love story of Dido and Aeneas, this tapestry is one of eight gifted to the museum for display in the armor court.

Description

Driven by despair, and to her sister's dismay, Dido throws herself onto a pyre of Aeneas's bed and clothes and pierces herself with his sword. Moved by pity, Jupiter's wife, Juno, sends Iris from heaven to cut a lock of Dido's hair and sacrifice it to the underworld so that Dido may die. Aeneas's fleet sails away in the distance.

Inscriptions

Inscription

signed lower right: M. Wavters.

Provenance

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

Citations

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. www.jstor.org

Exhibition history

Tapestry restoration 1. Gaspard De Wit/Koninklijke Manufactuur van Wandtapijten n.v (August 19, 1997-August 11, 1998).

The Cleveland Museum of Art

The Death of Dido

Giovanni Francesco Romanelli

Michael Wauters

Location

Fun Fact

Description

Inscription