Based on paintings by David Teniers the Younger, 17th century

Based on works by DAVID TENIERS “The Younger” (Antwerp, ca. 1610 – Brussels, 1690); 17th century.
“The Alchemist.”
Hand-woven wool tapestry.
Measurements: 159 x 95 cm.
This tapestry is based on a cartoon created by David Teniers the Younger in the 17th century. The original composition is larger, featuring more figures and a broader setting, which includes the exterior facade of the building at the top. Here, however, only the right-hand section of the cartoon has been depicted, where the alchemist himself appears. It should also be noted that the composition appears mirror-inverted, a choice that may have been deliberate, in order to correct the compositional imbalance that would have resulted from cropping the scene. Other tapestries woven from this same cartoon are currently preserved, such as the one at the Royal Palace in Madrid (woven at the Royal Factory of Santa Bárbara in the 18th century). The subject depicted refers to one of David Teniers’s most characteristic themes: the interiors of workshops and workspaces, filled with ordinary people and everyday objects. The alchemist was also a recurring motif in 17th-century Flemish painting. A particularly significant example is *The Alchemist*, painted by Teniers around 1650 and housed in the Mauritshuis.
One of the piece’s main attractions lies in its connection to the European dissemination of Teniers’s designs through tapestry. The popularity of these compositions was extraordinary and led to continuous production throughout much of the 17th and 18th centuries. Among the most relevant parallels is another tapestry with the same subject, housed in the Royal Palace of Madrid, which reproduces the composition of *The Alchemist* and serves as a particularly interesting reference for contextualizing this piece within the Spanish royal textile collections.
The so-called “à la Teniers” tapestries constitute one of the most recognizable genres of European Baroque tapestry. They emerged in the late 17th century and achieved extraordinary success during the 18th century. Their main center of production was Brussels, although these designs also spread to workshops in Lille, Oudenaarde, Beauvais, and Madrid. It is important to note that many of the cartoons used were not created directly by Teniers, but by later artists who reinterpreted his compositions and thematic universe. Among them were Jan van Orley, Jacob van Helmont, and Ignatius de Hondt. Production continued throughout the 18th century, adapting to the decorative tastes of Europe’s grand aristocratic residences.
David Teniers the Younger was one of the most prominent Flemish painters of the 17th century. The son and pupil of David Teniers the Elder, he developed his own distinctive style, specializing in genre scenes, peasant interiors, landscapes, and depictions of everyday life. He achieved extraordinary recognition and was appointed court painter to Archduke Leopold William of Austria, for whom he served as curator of his important art collections. His work exerted an enormous influence on European painting and the decorative arts, particularly through tapestries inspired by his compositions. His works are housed in major international institutions, such as the Prado Museum, the Mauritshuis in The Hague, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.