A Brussels tapestry, 'Kermess' c. 337 x 278 cm, signerad I. V. D BORCHT
After David Teniers the Younger, circa 1700.From a series of four tapestries: "L'homme qui pisse".
A polychrome scene with in the foreground children and a dog as well as a large number of eating, drinking and flirting farmers and peasant women around two tables.
Previous in The collection and art dealer Tore Gerschman (1913-1992), Stockholm.
Acquired by the current owner at Uppsala Auktionskammare, 'The Gerschman Collection' 8 - 10 December 2021, lot 842.
Arbman, D. Gobelins and other woven tapestries. (Forum, 1950), plate p. 120.
The tapestries associated with Teniers have consistently been attributed to David Teniers the Younger, who died in 1690, according to the earliest archival records. As the son of David Teniers the Elder, he became a master in the Antwerp guild in 1633. His reputation grew significantly after Archduke Leopold William, governor of the Netherlands, appointed him court painter in 1647. This recognition brought him international commissions, especially from King Philip IV of Spain, who reportedly commissioned so many of Teniers’ works that a separate gallery had to be built to house them.
The earliest documented weavers connected to the production of these tapestry subjects around 1693 were Jeroen Le Clerc and Jacob van der Borcht. Le Clerc appears in records as early as 1679, while van der Borcht obtained weaving privileges in 1676. Together, they delivered the first known tapestry series to Prince Rupert of Bavaria in 1693.
Teniers-inspired tapestry themes quickly became highly fashionable and were among the most widely woven subjects across Europe during the first half of the eighteenth century. Workshops adapted and modified the scenes according to local artistic traditions, and productions appeared in major weaving centres such as Brussels, Lille, Beauvais, Madrid, London, and Audenarde.