Tapestry Allegory of Winter

A tapestry with an allegorical depiction of Winter belongs to the series called the Four Seasons, the Autumn from which is also owned by the Museum. It was made in the manufactory of Pieter van der Heck after cartoons by Ludwig van Schoor (1666 – 1726) at the time when Brussels tapestry making was very much influenced by Rubens. In the centre of the composition is a winged female figure – an allegory of January, and a bearded man representing the sign of the zodiac Aquarius. The female figure to the right, seated alongside a gilt vessel with fire, personifies winter; the winged figure to the left is shown with a he-goat – the zodiacal sign for December, or Capricorn. Far right a separate female figure, personification of February, is shown with her sign, Pisces. Originally the border imitated the frame of a painting, with little shell-shaped cartouches at the corners and a series of very bent acanthus leaves. However, on this tapestry it was later reduced at all four sides, and so the signature that is regularly found alongside the border was cut out. A very similar tapestry with identical iconographic contents is kept in the Musées Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire in Brussels. The tapestry once belonged in Pribislavec Castle near Čakovec. It has been in the holdings of the Museum since 1919.