Tapestry (Caesar and Spurina)

This Flemish tapestry illustrates the episode when the Roman Emperor met the soothsayer Spurina, who warned him of his imminent death. The centre of the composition is occupied by Caesar, accompanied by other Roman soldiers, and the soothsayer, wearing a turban and holding a torch. On the right, above a brazier, is a fire burning and giving off clouds of smoke, in the midst of which one can see several animals. At the foot of this composition are depictions of a skull, two swords, a shield and a cat. In the background, on the left, is a military camp. The border, edged with vegetal motifs and with children’s heads in the corners, is decorated with flowers and fruits interspersed with female figures and children. At the top is a cartouche with the following inscription: IVLIVS HIC FVRIAM CAESAR FVGITAT FVRIENTEM COGNOSCENS SVBITO BESTIA QVOD FVERAT. According to the art historian Maria Antónia Quina, who suggested the interpretation of the theme – and studied another 18 tapestries belonging to five distinct series of the Life of Caesar, scattered around various countries – this is an extremely rare example of an equally rare series about the Life of Caesar. She suggests as possible authors of the cartoons on which the tapestry was based Pieter Coecke and Michel Coxie, the most prominent disciples of Bernard van Orley (c. 1487-1541), an important painter of tapestry cartoons from Brussels.