Искусства и ремесла Средневековья

172 Arts and Crafts ш tl1e lviiddle Ages

teenth centшy, апd tЬе best woгk of that tiшe was accoшplished in the Netherlands. About 1540 Brusscls рrоЬаЫу stood at the head of thc list of cities faшous for the production of thcse costly textiles. The Raplшcl tapestгies ,vегс made tl1ere, Ьу Рсtег vап Aelst, under the oгder of Роре Leo Х. Thcy wеге executed in tl1e space of four years, being finisЬed in 1519, only а year Ьеfоге Raplшel's death. In the sixteenth ceвtury tЬе Bгussels ,vorkers Ьеgап to шаkс certaiп " slюrt cнts " not quite legitiшate in an art of thc highest standing, sucl1 as toнcl1ing up the faccs ,vith liquid dyes, and usiвg the sаше to enhance thc effect after the ,vork ,vas finished. А la,v ,vas passed that this пшst not Ьс done on any tapestry worth mш·е thaп t,vclve репсе а yard. In spite of tЬis trickery, the Netherlandisl1 tapestrics led all otheгs iп popularity in that centuгy. It was almost invariaЫe, especially in Flemisl1 work, to treat Scriptuгal subjects as dгcssed in thc costшne of the period in ,vl1ich tl1c tapestry happened to Ье шаdс. \Vhen one sees the Pгodigal Son attired in а deliglltful Flemish costшne of а well-appoiпted dandy, and Аdаш presented to God the Father, both being clothed in Netherlandish garшents suitaЫe for Buгgomasters of the sixteenth century, tl1en we can believe that the follo\Ving description, quoted Ьу the Countess of "\Vilton, is hardly overdrawn. "In а corner of the apartment stood а bed, thc tapestгy of �·hich �'as enwrought with gaudy colours, represeнting Adam and Eve in the Garden