Caesar Throws Himself into the Sea from The Story of Caesar and Cleopatra

CC0 Public Domain Designation

Textiles

c. 1680

After a design by Justus van Egmont (Flemish, 1601–1674)
Woven at the workshop of Willem van Leefdael (Flemish, 1632–1688)
Brussels

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Textiles

Artists: Workshop of Willem van Leefdael (Manufacturer) , Justus van Egmont
Title: Caesar Throws Himself into the Sea from The Story of Caesar and Cleopatra, Caesar Throws Himself into the Sea
Places: Flanders (Object made in:), Brussels (Object made in:)
Date: Made 1675-1685
Medium: Wool and silk, slit and double interlocking tapestry weave Warp: Count: 8 warps per cm; wool: S-ply of three Z-spun elements; diameters: 0.6–0.8 mm Weft: Count: varies from 22 to 40 wefts per cm; wool: S-ply of two Z-spun elements; diameters: 0.3–1.0 mm; silk: pairs and three yarns of S-ply of two Z-twisted elements; diameters: 0.5–1.0 mm; wool and silk: paired yarns of S-ply of two Z-spun wool elements and S-ply of two Z-twisted silk elements; diameters: 0.5–1.0 mm
Inscriptions: Marked and signed: Brussels city mark; G·V·LEEFDAEL Inscribed: CAESAR·IN·MOTV·ALEXANDRIAE / DOLO·LAPSVS·IN·MARE / SERVATIS·MANV·LITERIS / AD·NON·EXVSTAS·NAVES / ADNATAT (The Egyptians attack Caesar’s boat, forcing him to jump in the water and escape by swimming to ships that had not been burned, while holding some precious papers in his hand)
Dimensions: 351.2 × 362.4 cm (138 1/4 × 142 3/4 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Chauncey McCormick and Mrs. Richard Ely Danielson
Reference Number: 1944.18
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/49667/manifest.json

Koenraad Brosens, ed., Christa C. Mayer Thurman, gen. ed., European Tapestries in the Art Institute of Chicago, exh. cat., [exhibition: “The Divine Art: Four Centuries of European Tapestries in the Art Institute of Chicago”] (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2008) , 138-165, cat. 19H (ill.).

Art Institute of Chicago, Regenstein Hall, The Divine Art: Four Centuries of European Tapestry, Nov. 1, 2008–Jan. 4, 2009.
Art Institute of Chicago, Applied Arts of Europe rotation, The Deering Family Galleries of Medieval and Renaissance Art, Arms, and Armor, Gallery 239A, May 17, 2022-July 18, 2023.

Possibly the Villalonga family, Mallorca, to 1914 at the latest; Charles Deering (died 1927), Marycel, Sitges, Spain, by 1914; by descent to his daughters Mrs. Chauncey McCormick (born Marion Deering, died 1965) and Mrs. Ely Danielson (born Barbara Deering, died 1982); given to the Art Institute, 1944.

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Caesar Throws Himself into the Sea from The Story of Caesar and Cleopatra

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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