A set of seven huge (28 feet x 14 feet) Renaissance tapestries have stopped by for a visit at the deYoung Art Museum, and they are spectacular.
On February 25, 1525, there was a tremendous one-day battle in the northern Italian town of Pavia near Milan which concluded the wrestling over European territory between the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the King of France, Francis I.
The French forces were laying siege to the city of Pavia but on that fateful day the multinational forces of Charles V routed the French and captured Frances I, imprisoning him in Madrid for the the following year.
To commemorate the event, the seven tapestries in this exhibit were created for Charles V by Bernard van Orley, the greatest tapestry artist of his time who worked out of Brussels.
The tapestries took six years to complete by a small army of craftsmen, and the exquisite detailing is mind-boggling.
Also part of the exhibit are weaponry and armor from the 16th century which makes one wonder how they ever managed to even move with their bulky, colorful uniforms and unwieldy swords and lances.
One interesting omission is gore of any sort, although people are stabbing and stomping and drowning each other.
The final section of the last tapestry shows the French being driven into a river.
It reminded me of why I hate the glorification of battles and war.
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