The Fall of Phaeton

1776·Wool and silk, slit and double interlocking tapestry weave·351.2 × 286.3 cm (138 1/4 × 112 3/4 in.)

Phaeton’s overweening ambition to guide his father’s chariot of the sun through the sky is recorded in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, as is the disastrous outcome of his attempt, here presented in a dramatic scene that captures the tumultuous moment of Phaeton’s being struck down by a thunderbolt from Zeus. The scalloped valance and matching side curtains that frame the scene link it to The Arrival of Telemachus on Calypso’s Island. The two tapestries are part of a Story of Telemachus suite based on François Fénelon’s Adventures of Telemachus (Les Aventures de Télémaque; 1699), which was originally written as an ethical guide for the education of Louis, Duke of Burgundy (1618–1712), the grandson and heir of Louis XIV (r. 1643–1715). Phaeton’s story—particularly his death, as depicted in this tapestry—conveys the consequences of youthful intrepidity and pride, and like the tapestries’ source material, offers viewers a powerful moral lesson.

Catalogue

Year: 1776
Medium: Wool and silk, slit and double interlocking tapestry weave
Dimensions: 351.2 × 286.3 cm (138 1/4 × 112 3/4 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Antonio Tempesta

Artist

Antonio Tempesta

Textile

Antonio Tempesta was an Italian printmaker and painter active in Rome during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. He specialized in etching and engraving, producing prolific series of religious narratives, hunts, and classical subjects that circulated widely across Europe. His compositions combined dramatic spatial depth with precise linear detail, establishing a formal vocabulary that influenced printmakers for generations. Tempesta's prints were prized for their narrative clarity and technical refinement, making him one of the most commercially successful graphic artists of his era.

Florence

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