Tapestry Penance at Hampton Court
May 05, 1967 - Royal Tapestries On View At Hampton Court. Two More Tudor Rooms Open To The Public.: Three 17th-century tapestries which used to hang in Buckingham palace are to be on view to visitors to Hampton Court Palace from tomorrow (9th. May). They have been generously lent by H.M. The Queen, and will be the principal feature of two Tudor rooms at Hampton Court, which have been restored by the Ministry of Public Building and Works and were not hitherto open to the public. Though known as the Barberini Tapestries, they are not in the fact tapestries but ( like the Bayeux Tapestry, for example) embroidered hangings. They portray scenes in the life of Christ and are probably part of the series of which two are in NewYork and one (The Annunciation) remains at Buckingham Palace. These scene were copied not from cartoons, but from engravings. One of them, called Penance, is based on Poussin's painting of that name. These now displayed at Hampton Court are The Rest on the Flight into Egypt, The Adoration of the Magi, and Penance (Christ in the house of Simon the Pharisee). A fourth piece, The Massacre of the Innocents, is not yet ready for hanging. They were bought by the Prince Regent in 1815. Photo shows one of the tapestries - Penance (Christ in the House of Simon the Pharisee) - pictured at Hampton Court today
