| The History of Constantine | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Peter Paul Rubens, Pietro da Cortona |
| Year | 1622-40 |
| Type | oil paintings, tapestries |
The History of Constantine is a series of tapestries designed by the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens and Italian artist Pietro da Cortona depicting the life of Constantine I, the first Christian Roman emperor. In 1622, Rubens painted the first twelve oil sketches that were used as guides, and the tapestries themselves were woven in the workshop of Marc Comans and François de la Planche in the Faubourg Saint-Marcel in Paris by 1625,[1] transforming each small sketch (perhaps two feet per side) into a sumptuous creation of wool, silk, and gold and silver threads that could easily fill a wall.[2] An additional five designs were painted by Cortona in 1630 and woven in the atelier of Cardinal Francesco Barberini in Rome over the next decade.[3]
The tapestries, once separated, are now all in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the oil sketches are widely dispersed, in several countries.
- ^ Wieseman, Marjorie E. "The Labarum, 1622". Drawn by the Brush: Oil Sketches by Peter Paul Rubens. Bruce Museum of Arts and Science. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
- ^ "Tapestry showing Constantine Directing the Building of Constantinople". Philadelphia Museum of Art. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
- ^ DuBon, David (1964). Catalogue of the Exhibition Constantine the Great. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art. p. 99.