The Life of Constantine: 400 Years of the Philadelphia Barberini Tapestries

The Life of Constantine tapestries, woven after the designs of Peter Paul Rubens and Pietro da Cortona, exemplify how the meaning and significance of an artwork can change as its context changes. Originally envisioned as a celebration of Christian rulership in the Paris of Louis XIII, the series morphed into a diplomatic gift when the king gave it to the pope's nephew, Cardinal Francesco Barberini. The cardinal commissioned additional panels that customized the series to a new Roman context. Emphasis shifted further every time the series was displayed, sometimes in whole or sometimes in part, and in locations that ranged from the family palaces to St. Peter's Basilica to outdoor festivals in the streets of Rome. In later times, when the tycoons of America's "Gilded Age" used tapestry to fashion themselves as modern-day renaissance princes, the meaning of the Constantine series shifted again. And finally, in the seventy years that these tapestries have hung in the Great Stair Hall of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, they have become both icons of civic pride and challenges to modern audiences. James Harper, Penn State professor and author of The Barberini Tapestries: Woven Monuments of Baroque Rome, reconstructs a "biography" of these iconic weavings.

Things to Know:

• This is a hybrid program. You can register either for the in-person event or register to watch it live via Zoom.
• There will be time for a Q&A at the end of the program.
• The program will be recorded. A link to the recording will be sent to everyone who registers for the virtual component of the program.

About the Speaker:

James Harper teaches seventeenth century art and directs the Museum Studies Program at the Pennsylvania State University (Main Campus). A specialist on the intersections of Italian art and politics, he holds a PhD in the History of Art from the University of Pennsylvania. Harper has written on topics including monumental biographical imagery as a form of propaganda, materiality and meaning in tapestry, the image of the Turk in western art, the high baroque painter Pietro da Cortona, “art strategies” at the papal court, and the reception of art and architecture in the era of the Grand Tour. His work has received the support of the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Samuel Kress Foundation, the Graham Foundation, and Villa I Tatti, the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies. Prior to joining the Penn State faculty, Harper taught at the University of Oregon and worked in museums including the National Gallery, the Harvard University Art Museums, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.