Pompey asks for Cornelia's hand in marriage

This tapestry belongs to the "History of Pompey the Great" series, which is exhibited in the Audiovisual Room and the Clock Room of the Cathedral tower. In this collection of eight tapestries, scenes from the life of Pompey, a Roman general, are represented. These tapestries were woven by the brothers Bernard and Christian van Bruston in the workshops of Brussels (B-B) in the first quarter of the 17th century. The cartoons—the preparatory drawings—may have been created by Antoine Sallaert based on Plutarch's Parallel Lives. In each of them, Pompey's exploits are staged; he enjoyed great fame and was loved among his people for his way of waging war, as well as for his treatment of others. The scene represented by the cartoon artist is not the marriage of Pompey and Cornelia but rather the emperor's matrimonial declaration to this second wife.