The Camel

By the late 1600s, exotic creatures like camels were familiar to the French, who knew of them from classical writers like Aristotle and Pliny and from accounts in medieval bestiaries. At least some of the beasts may have been drawn from life at the royal menagerie at Versailles.



In addition to animals and birds--a camel, leopard, lion, peacock, and parrots--this tapestry features human figures. These theatrical performers wear half-masks, and were based on characters from a popular form of street theater, the Commedia Dell' Arte (Comedy of Art). On the tapestry's left side, a violinist and a tambourine player accompany a tightrope walker. On the right, a jesterlike figure tends to the camel. Between them, cherubs perform precariously from ropes hanging down from a central cornice, with a peacock perched below them. Above, parrots balance on canopies hung beneath two trellises, amidst an assortment of swags, urns, and other ornate elements.



Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer, who designed this tapestry, is best known as an artist of floral still-life paintings in the Dutch tradition. The enormous bouquet in the tapestry's center reflects his specialty—floral paintings produced for the court at Versailles.