The Philosophers

This tapestry depicting philosophers gathered in a refined court is part of a series that tells the ancient story of Artemesia, queen of Caria (southwest region of modern-day Turkey). She was exceptional for ruling without a husband when many believed only kings should rule. This is one of eight tapestries devoted to the widowed queen’s cultured and stable reign. Though the tapestries were woven in 1600s France, their designs were informed by a collection of illustrated sonnets composed in 1562. These were commissioned by the widowed French queen Catherine de Medici (1519–1589), who looked to Artemesia as an example of powerful and just female leadership.