Portuguese Pastrana Tapestries Exhibition in USA

 1471-1475, wool and silk tapestry, overall: 400 x 1082 cm (157 1/2 x 426 in.),

Photos: The National Gallery, Paul M.R. Maeyaert, Dennis Brack/Black Star

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The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. is where you can watch The Invention of Glory: Afonso V and the Pastrana Tapestries. The Pastrana Tapestries will remain at the museum from September 18, 2011, through January 8, 2012. They are among the finest Gothic tapestries in the world. They were made to commemorate the conquest of two strategically located cities in Morocco by the king of Portugal, Afonso V (1432–1481).

The exhibition was organized by the National Gallery and the Fundación Carlos de Amberes, Madrid in association with the embassies of Spain and Portugal, the Spain-USA Foundation, and with the cooperation of the embassies of Belgium and Morocco in Washington, DC, as well as the Diocese of Sigüenza-Guadalajara and the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, Pastrana, Spain.


From Washington, the Pastrana Tapestries will travel to the Meadows Museum, Dallas, Texas (February 5–May 13, 2012); the San Diego Museum of Art (June 10–September 9, 2012); and the Indianapolis Museum of Art (October 5, 2012–January 6, 2013). The exhibition was made possible through the support of the governments of Spain, Belgium, and Portugal.

 The Conquest of Tangier, (detail) c. 1471-1475, wool and silk tapestry, 

overall: 400 x 1082 cm (157 1/2 x 426 in.) 

More information about it? Read Washington Post's art review, here!