The Hunts of Maximilian: April, the Return from the Hunt at Boitsfort
Bernard van Orley (cartoons), Dermoyen workshop (weaving) (c. 1488-1541) · c. 1531
At the edge of the great forest of Soignes, south-east of Brussels, grooms lead out packs of greyhounds and spaniels and prepare to water them at a well. In the foreground two officers of the hunt walk ahead of a lady riding side-saddle on a richly harnessed horse, a falcon perched on her fist, while a groom follows with a bloodhound on a leash. The place is Boitsfort, where the imperial kennels stood. Spring is a little further along than in the March tapestry: fern fronds are uncurling and lily of the valley is coming into flower at the bottom edge. Look at the borders, which are the same on every piece of the set: garlands of flowers and fruit wound around palm trunks that spring from vases and baskets, alive with birds and small furry animals. The medallion at the top holds the bull of Taurus.
The tapestry belongs to the twelve-month cycle woven in Brussels around fifteen thirty-one after cartoons by Bernard van Orley, one of the great achievements of Renaissance weaving. The Brussels city mark and the weaver Dermoyen's mark appear in the lower selvedges. It came to the museum from the royal collections in seventeen ninety-seven.
Did You Know? A lady riding side-saddle with a falcon on her fist leads the hunt, an unusual centrepiece for a hunting tapestry.
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