Art and War in the Renaissance: The Battle of Pavia Tapestries
October 19–January 12, 2025 Renaissance Art Exhibition Curated by Dr. Thomas P. Campbell, Carmine Romano, Dr. Sylvain Bellenger, Dr. Cecilia Paredes, Graziella Palei, Antonio Tosini. Image: Bernard van Orley. Detailed View I of The Advance of the Imperial Army and Counterattack of the French Cavalry Led by King Francis I, ca. 1528-1531. de Young Museum, San Francisco.
de Young Museum
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Bernard van Orley. The Invasion of the French Camp and the Flight of the Women and Civilians, ca. 1538-1531. de Young Museum, San Francisco.
Overview
Art and War in the Renaissance: The Battle of Pavia Tapestries, features seven dramatic tapestries depicting the Holy Roman Empire’s historic 16th-century victory over France in Italy.
The exhibition’s curatorial team is led by Thomas P. Campbell, FAMSF’s director hailing from the Met, who is also one of the world’s foremost authorities on tapestries.
“The Battle of Pavia tapestries narrate Holy Roman Emperor Charles V’s decisive 1525 victory over French King Francis I during the Italian Wars.
Renowned as some of the finest Renaissance artworks, these immense tapestries (measuring approximately 27 by 14 feet) were both storytelling devices and tools of political propaganda, created through intricate collaboration between artists and weavers.
Designed by court artist Bernard van Orley (1487–1541), they represent groundbreaking artistic innovations of the time.
Their monumental scale immerses viewers in the rich tapestry of Renaissance politics, technology, and fashion.”
Bernard van Orley. Detailed View II of The Advance of the Imperial Army and Counterattack of the French Cavalry Led by King Francis I, ca. 1528-1531. de Young Museum, San Francisco.
The tapestries are truly stunning in person with such an astonishing level of detail that simply cannot be captured by film, which is even more reason to see them before the exhibition closes THIS SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 2025.
Preview of Art and War in the Renaissance: The Battle of Pavia Tapestries. de Young Museum, San Francisco.
The exhibition’s catalogue (208 pages) by Carmine Romano, Dr. Sylvain Bellenger, Dr. Thomas P. Campbell, Dr. Cecilia Paredes, Graziella Palei, Antonio Tosini is available for sale on Amazon. It is currently SOLD OUT at FAMSF stores ($54.00 members).
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco produced these short films on the exhibition, exploring the tapestries’ profound historical significance.
FAMSF’s Battle of Pavia Tapestries I. de Young Museum, San Francisco.
FAMSF’s Battle of Pavia Tapestries II. de Young Museum, San Francisco.
FAMSF’s Battle of Pavia Tapestries III. de Young Museum, San Francisco.
🗓 Art and War in the Renaissance: The Battle of Pavia Tapestries is on view until Jan 12, 2025 at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. It runs alongside some really stand out shows (see below), including the phenomenal Tamara de Lempicka retrospective (post to follow soon), which closes Feb 9, 2025.
✨ Also check out THE MUST SEE Mary Cassatt at Work exhibition (closes Jan 26, 2025) at FAMSF’s Legion of Honor.
Art and War in the Renaissance: The Battle of Pavia Tapestries Installation View. de Young Museum, San Francisco.
💌 Did you see the show(s)? What did you think? Let us know in the comments (in the Reviews section located on the second tab at the top of the page).
Leilah Babirye: We Have a History [AMAZING AMAZING SHOW by the Ugandan artist, dramatically installed in the museum’s Art of Africa wing.] (Closes Oct 26, 2025)
⭐ MUSEUM HOURS: Open Tuesday–Sunday 9:30 a.m.–5:15 p.m.; CLOSED MONDAY. *Hamon Observation Tower Closes at 4:30 p.m. ⭐ ADMISSION:
General Admission Adults $20 (includes same-day GA entry to Legion of Honor Museum)
Seniors 65+ $17
Students (w/ID) $11
17 & Under FREE.
*SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS +$15 (Includes access to permanent collections)
**Membership (includes Legion of Honor Museum) starts at $129
⭐ DISCOUNTS: GeneralAdmission is FREE through the following programs:
Sketching in the Galleries on select Saturdays from 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.; Next ones are Jan 11, Gallery 25; Jan 18, Gallery 23.
⭐ DINING: de Young Café. American and European classic cuisine. Indoor and outdoor dining (w/weather permitting on the Barbro Osher Sculpture Garden Terrace). Open Tuesday–Sunday 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Art and War in the Renaissance: The Battle of Pavia Tapestries | Oct 19, 2024–Jan 12, 2025
Seven enormous Renaissance tapestries are on view in the United States for the first time, alongside impressive examples of 16th-century arms and armor.
Tamara de Lempicka | Oct 12, 2024–Feb 9, 2025
Tamara de Lempicka helped define Art Deco. This exhibition explores the painter’s distinctive style and unconventional life.
Nampeyo and the Sikyátki Revival | Feb 27, 2021–Jan 12, 2025
Celebrating the artistic ingenuity of Nampeyo, famed Tewa-Hopi potter, the de Young museum presents an installation of 32 pots from the collections of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. During her lifetime, Nampeyo (ca. 1860 – 1942) was, and remains today, perhaps the most renowned potter from the American Southwest. The single-gallery exhibition highlights Nampeyo’s work, juxtaposed with examples of Hopi pottery from her time. Exquisite ceramics made by ancestral Hopi artists demonstrate Nampeyo’s sources of inspiration, and artworks by four generations of her descendants attest to the master potter’s enduring legacy.
Leilah Babirye: We Have a History | June 22, 2024–Oct 26, 2025
Leilah Babirye’s first solo museum show in the US features expressive sculptures that speak to the power of reclaiming personal and cultural identity.
Contemporary Painting in Papua New Guinea: Mathias Kauage and His Family | March 30, 2024–March 15, 2026
This exhibition features boldly colorful paintings of a radically changing world by contemporary Papua New Guinea artist Mathias Kauage and his family.
Coming Soon to FAMSF’s de Young Museum
Matisse’s “Jazz” Unbound | Opens Jan 25, 2025
In the final decades of a prolific career, modern artist Henri Matisse (1869–1954) took up book illustration. This exhibition celebrates our 2024 acquisition of Jazz, Matisse’s 1947 artist book on the circus and theater. Jazz includes 20 color stencil prints (pochoirs) of popular subjects on these themes, from horses to ringmasters. The prints were created using the artist’s lively paper cutouts, what Matisse called “drawing with scissors.” Published by the innovative Greek publisher Tériade (Stratis Eleftheriadis), it is considered the pinnacle of Matisse’s graphic art. This presentation offers the rare chance to see the unbound works from Jazz in conversation with other Matisse artist books and works on paper from our collection.
Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm | Opens March 1, 2025
Nearly 60 years after The Beatles performed their final concert at Candlestick Park, Beatlemania is back in the Bay. Featuring more than 250 personal photographs by Paul McCartney, along with video clips and archival materials, this exhibition offers a behind-the-scenes look at the meteoric rise of the world’s most celebrated band. The images capture the period from December 1963 through February 1964 and the band’s journey to superstardom, from local venues in Liverpool to The Ed Sullivan Show and worldwide acclaim. Photographs of screaming crowds and paparazzi show the sheer magnitude of the group’s fame and the cultural change they represented. More intimate images of the band on their days off highlight the humor and individuality of McCartney and bandmates John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Rediscovered in the artist’s personal archive in 2020, these images offer new perspectives on the band, their fans, and the early 1960s, as seen through the eyes of Paul McCartney.
Currently on View at FAMSF’s Legion of Honor
Mary Cassatt at Work | Legion of Honor | Oct 5–Jan 26, 2025 | A LOVE LETTER TO ART
Preview of Mary Cassatt at Work at San Francisco’s Legion of Honor Museum. The retrospective closes Jan 26, 2025.
Dress Rehearsal: The Art of Theatrical Design | Nov 9, 2024–May 11, 2025
In celebration of the Legion of Honor’s 100th anniversary, this exhibition brings together some of our most outstanding costume and set designs.
Celebrating 100 Years at the Legion of Honor | Nov 9, 2024–Nov 2, 2025
This exhibition looks back to the museum’s 1924 opening through its 1990s expansion and into the present day, as well as forward toward a new vision for the future. The museum’s close ties to the communities of San Francisco are brought into focus through collection highlights, rediscovered materials from the museum’s archives, and an expansive timeline. Featuring some of the first additions to the collection, such as an ancient ceramic vase gifted by the queen of Greece and an Auguste Rodin sculpture donated by museum cofounder Alma de Bretteville Spreckels, the exhibition also highlights the museum’s early exhibitions, including one devoted to Diego Rivera. The timeline takes us through the decades, including the 1972 merger with the de Young, the seismic upgrade and expansion after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, and recent interventions by contemporary artists such as Wangechi Mutu. The exhibition is punctuated by images of visitors through the years interacting with Rodin’s famous The Thinker (1904). Front and center in the museum’s courtyard, the sculpture continues to welcome visitors in to explore the art and their own creativity.
Coming Soon to FAMSF’s Legion of Honor
Wayne Thiebaud: Art Comes from Art | Opens March 2, 2025
“I believe very much in the tradition that art comes from art and nothing else” —Wayne Thiebaud Wayne Thiebaud (1920–2021) became famous for his colorful paintings of American confections and buffets. He was also a self-described art “thief,” who openly drew ideas from and reinterpreted old and new European and American artworks. An influential teacher at Sacramento Junior College and the University of California, Davis, Thiebaud never stopped learning. He believed that art history is a continuum that connects artists of the past, present, and future. Highlighting work from across the beloved artist’s six-decade career, this exhibition features Thiebaud’s inventive reinterpretations and direct copies of famous artworks, as well as objects from his personal art collection that inspired him. Approximately 60 quintessential works by Thiebaud — including paintings of people (alone and together); still lives of cakes, tabletops, and other ordinary objects; cityscapes featuring soaring buildings; and mountain landscapes — offer an in-depth exploration of one of the most important and overlooked aspects of his creative practice: his passionate engagement with art history.
A LOVE LETTER TO ART RECOMMENDS
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