A Brussels historical tapestry depicting Constantius Appointing Constantine As His Successor from the History of Constantine, after a design by Peter Paul Rubens circa 1680, Antwerp or Brussels

Lined with loops. Some splits and open warps throughout. Restoration throughout, particularly to cream-colored silk areas in sky and in center of tapestry. Slightly reduced horizontally along bottom of ground and upper edge. Also with restoration to vertical cuts on sides. Later selvage on three sides, top selvage lacking. Vibrant colors with some fading, slightly brighter and less golden in life. Very fine weave. Ready to hang.
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The History of Constantine was the second large series of tapestries which the Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) was commissioned to design, and the only series of his designs sent to Paris for weaving. He executed thirteen oil sketches for the series, from which his workshop created the lifesize cartoons that were sent to the French royal tapestry manufactory in the Faubourg Saint-Marcel in Paris, which no longer survive. Rubens based the narrative on the story of Constantine contained in the Annales Eccleciastici by Cardinal Cesare Baronio (1538-1607).

The subject of the episode in the present lot has traditionally been identified as Constantine Investing His Son Crispus with Command of the Fleet, an event which would have occurred prior to Constantine’s naval battle with Licinus. This association might be further supported by the rudder passed between the figures, a maritime icon also symbolic of the steering of government. In his account Baronio compares this interaction to God, father and ruler, entrusting the salvation of the world to his son. Koenraad Brosens (op. cit., "A Case of Mistaken Identity: Rubens's So-Called Constantine and Crispus Oil-Sketch in Sydney") has argued recently that the scene actually depicts Constantius passing his imperial power to his son, Constantine. He cites Held's seminal catalogue and analysis of Rubens' oil sketches (op. cit.) in which the author notes that the figure traditionally identified as Constantine is bearded and appears much older than in the preceding episode depicting his baptism.

It is also a matter of some debate whether Louis XIII of France or François de la Planche of the Gobelins manufactory himself commissioned the tapestries. In either case, the entire tapestry series was purchased by the King, though he immediately gave the first seven completed panels to Francesco Barberini, Cardinal of Rome, in 1625. The other weavings remained in Paris, including one of the present composition which is preserved in the Mobilier National in Paris (inv. no. GMTT 43/3).

The oil sketch for this episode is now in the collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

RELATED LITERATURE
Koenraad Brosens, "A Case of Mistaken Identity: Rubens's So-Called Constantine and Crispus Oil-Sketch in Sydney," The Burlington Magazine, vol. CLIII, 2011, pp. 86-89
Koenraad Brosens, Rubens: Subjects from History, the Constantine Series, London, 2011
Guy Delmarcel et al., Rubens's Textiles, Antwerp, 1997, pp. 31-32, 58-77
J.S. Held, The Oil Sketches of Peter Paul Rubens: a Critical Catalogue, Princeton, 1980, pp. 65-80