Flemish Tapestry Craft

Timeline

1. 1420–1500Bruges, Ghent · FlandersBurgundian dukes and the church ordered tapestries on a large scale; workshops formed a division of painters producing designs and weavers executing them, making Flemish tapestry the standard of European court decoration.
2. 1551–1560Brussels workshop district · BrabantIn the 1550s Brussels tapestry exports reached Spain, England, and the Holy Roman Empire, with dense court orders around Charles V's abdication; the Reformation had already weakened some Low Countries church commissions, but noble and overseas demand still sustained capacity.
3. 1566–1648Southern Netherlands and French border · Low CountriesReligious conflicts in the Netherlands forced some weavers and merchants to migrate south; workshops spread beyond Brussels, and tapestry subjects became more secular and classical to suit new patrons' tastes.