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THE FOUR SEASONS
The Four Seasons Tapestries, now on display at Hatfield House, were originally woven for Sir John Tracy of Toddington, Gloucestershire. Each tapestry contains the coat of arms of the Toddington family. They made their way to Hatfield House some time before 1846 where they were hung in rooms prepared for Queen Victoria when she visited Hatfield in October of that year. The four tapestries are adaptations of engravings of the Four Seasons by Maarten de Vos, which show allegorical figures presiding over rural labours and activities of the season. The tapestries depict a mixture of seasonal and allegorical images and homely details. Each tapestry has three roundels at the top illustrating signs of the zodiac and the frames are filled with over a hundred different emblems. These images link the familiar activities of the tapestry with timeless and idealised personifications, often moral, political or religious in meaning.
spring
Spring (390 x 300 cm), represented by Venus, sits wearing a headdress of flowers with a bunch of spring flowers in her hand. Venus is accompanied by Cupid and two doves perch on her knee. The tapestry is full of blooming flowers and verdant trees, creating a landscape that is moving towards a millefleurs composition. In the forest, where the trees are filled with roosting birds, there is a stag hunt and a man hides behind a tree with a gun, which is seen to explode. Below this is a hare hunt and in the river that winds through the tapestry a young couple fish together. Meanwhile on the left the scenes are more bucolic. There is a field of sheep and lambs, a lady milks cows in the foreground, and men and women gather flowers and make crowns for themselves, imitating Venus.
Summer
Summer (390 x 300 cm) shows Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, wearing her crown of corn holding her sickle, fruit, flowers and animals at her feet. A parrot perches in the branches of the apple tree looking at the rural scene to its right. The background of the tapestry is filled with farm buildings and illustrates agricultural activities; a farmer watches over his cattle, carts are seen laden with corn. Villagers are seen washing sheep in the river with a second group in the foreground shearing the sheep, whilst a woman approaches carrying a basket of lunch.
The Four Seasons are available as
Tapestry Wall Hangings
Printed Linen Panels
