The Glorification of Minerva

In 1716, the Viscounty of the Oudburg in Ghent commissioned a series of tapestries devoted to the Exaltation of the Gods. The Viscounty was a fief of the County of Flanders, located within the walls of the Counts’ Castle. Barely a year later, the tapestries were hung in the Castellany. The Oudburg arms appears in the middle of each tapestry…

In 1716, the Viscounty of the Oudburg in Ghent commissioned a series of tapestries devoted to the Exaltation of the Gods. The Viscounty was a fief of the County of Flanders, located within the walls of the Counts’ Castle. Barely a year later, the tapestries were hung in the Castellany. The Oudburg arms appears in the middle of each tapestry. Oudburg College was closed down during the period of French revolutionary occupation and the Viscounty building was demolished. The series ended up in the Museum of Fine Art in 1904, having had several homes in the interim. The Exaltation of Minerva focuses again on the importance of civilisation. Minerva, like Apollo, is presented as the opposite of Mars. She sprang from the head of Jupiter, making her the Goddess of Wisdom, Knowledge and Peace. Minerva is a warlike goddess with the strength to impose peace and to protect civilisation, which are represented here by a variety of allegorical figures. The woman at her side, with the Horn of Plenty under her arm, is a symbol of Prosperity. Other figures include Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, Science, Poetry and Music, all of whom have come to pay homage to Minerva. Two cherubs destroy instruments of war in the foreground, while Fame trumpets forth Minerva’s victory – the conquest of mindless violence by reason. The farmer ploughing his field and the harbour in the background represent Agriculture and Trade.