A must-see
article | Reading time3 min
Discover the history of this exceptional ensemble, one of the few sets to have remained in the château de Haroué since its reconstruction!
Since the Middle Ages, tapestries have been prized for decorating ceremonial rooms in castles.
The tapestries at Haroué are based on cartoons by the painter Charles Le Brun.
They depict scenes from the life (especially battles) of Alexander the Great, a theme much appreciated by the Sun King, who liked to compare himself to Alexander!
The set presented at Haroué originally comprised twelve panels. Only eleven remain today. The twelfth, depicting the Battle of Arbelles, was destroyed in a fire in the restoration workshop in 1997.
They are woven on wool, gold and silver looms.
Did you know that it took a weaver a year to produce 1 square meter of tapestry? Today, restoring just one of these tapestries would take two years!
The History of Alexander the Great tapestries are the property of the French State, which keeps them on deposit at the Château.
© Colombe Clier / Centre des monuments nationaux
