Flemish tapestry

Timeline

1. 1450–1570Brussels tapestry guild · BelgiumThe Brussels tapestry guild guaranteed origin and quality with the 'Brussels B B' mark, and workshops divided labor among designers, dyers, and weavers. In the early 16th century the Burgundian-Habsburg court commissioned large series of history tapestries such as the 'Dardanus' series, making Flemish tapestries among Europe's most expensive interior furnishings, shipped via the port of Antwerp to Spain, England, and the Holy Roman Empire.
2. 1571–1580Spanish Netherlands · Spanish NetherlandsDespite worsening political turmoil in the Low Countries in the 1570s, Brussels and Antwerp workshops still took large commissions from Philip II and various bishops and nobles. Tapestries mainly depicted Old Testament narratives, classical mythology, and hunting scenes, using high weft density and graded colors to imitate painting, with a single piece taking years to complete. In the late 1570s some orders were delayed by war and funding shortages, but the status of Flemish tapestries in the European luxury market remained unshaken.
3. 1580–1650Antwerp and Bruges · BelgiumAfter the Iberian Union of 1580, some weavers and merchants moved to the Dutch Republic and France, but the workshops of the Southern Netherlands continued their traditions. Tapestry compositions increasingly drew on the Northern Renaissance and mannerism, borders grew more elaborate, and subjects added more political allegory to serve Habsburg propaganda, laying the groundwork for Flemish-French tapestry competition in the 17th century.