Rinaldo Carried to Armida's Enchanted Chariot
by VOUET, Simon, Tapestry, wool and silk
This tapestry belongs to a set of 10 tapestries made in Paris in the Faubourg Saint-Germain tapestry workshop on the rue de la Chaise, which was active from 1633 to 1668. They were woven in wool and silk around 1633-1637 under the direction of Raphael de la Planche, after designs painted by Simon Vouet, the premier peintre du roi, or first painter to the king.
The tapestries tell the story of Rinaldo and Armida from Tarquato Tasso’s Gerusalemme Liberata (Jerusalem Delivered), published in 1581. The literary work is an epic poem that commemorates and mythologizes the first crusade of 1095-99 when Christian knights, led by Godfry de Bouillon (c.1058-1100), relieved Jerusalem from Saracen control.
Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 8 minutes):
George Frideric Handel: Two arias, Rinaldo, Acts II and III