Engineering Brussels Tapestry: Development, Uses and Effects of the Privilege System, 1600–1700

Abstract

By conceptualising and analysing the privileges awarded to Brussels tapestry actors in the seventeenth century as serial data, and thus as a — consistently inconsistent — system, and by combining quantitative and qualitative readings of the data, this essay refines our understanding of the mechanics of Brussels baroque tapestry. One of the most salient insights is the marginal position of painters within the privilege system, showing that producers — and therefore patrons — identified ‘Brussels tapestry’ with quality of materials and weft rather than with a specific pictorial style. Ensuring quality, however, was complex, as it was dependent on the varying agendas of different stakeholders. The essay shows how they constantly adapted the privilege system to navigate and mitigate not only these issues, but also contextual factors that impacted the Brussels art worlds. Thus, the essay can also serve as a backdrop against which future studies of Brussels baroque art can be placed.