ANCOSP0084001
Plato's Academy Silk Tapestry Italy XVII-XVIII Century
Central Italy Late 17th-early 18th century
Small silk tapestry, with some applied inserts in painted canvas, corresponding to the faces and hands of the characters. The scene depicts Plato's Academy, with the philosopher sitting on the ground, his back against a tree, dressed in a cassock and a mantle that drapes him, with his right hand holding a tablet or parchment. He is intent on carrying out a philosophy lesson, with the young students who surround him and with one of whom he is speaking in particular. Behind a rural landscape inhabited by men who are doing agricultural work: some intent in sowing, some in harvesting and some, again, in cutting down a tree with an ax. In the background, to the right of the main group, a turreted construction can be seen, while to the left an ancient herm. Inserted in a coeval frame, molded in several orders with ebonized parts alternating with others veneered in tortoiseshell.