The Royal Tapestry Factory of Santa Bárbara is one of the royal factories for the manufacture of luxury items created by the mercantilist policy of the Spanish Enlightenment.
It was founded in 1720 by Philip V of Spain, imitating the French royal workshops that followed the Colbertist model, after the interruption of the import of Flemish tapestries following the Peace of Utrecht, which supplied the pieces destined for the royal quarters. Since 1889 it has been located in the Pacífico district of Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain, in a building designed between 1889 and 1891. It currently maintains the activity for which it was created.
Cartoons
The weavers worked from designs known as cartoons. These were provided by court painters. Flemish models were followed in the early years, from the school of David Teniers III and Philips Wouwerman.
In 1746 during the reign of Ferdinand VI, the styles of the cartoons were renewed, which now looked to Italian painters such as Jacopo Amigoni, Corrado Giaquinto or French painters, among them Louis-Michel van Loo and Michel-Ange Houasse, with the collaboration of Andrés de la Calleja and Antonio González Ruiz. The themes are also renewed, which now include a greater variety, developing mythological motifs and picturesque customs, which responded to the decorative purpose of these manufactures. Historical series and even a Historia de Don Quijote, which echoes the fictional characters of the novel, also stand out.
Anton Rafael Mengs introduced a neoclassical concept in the composition not exempt from the picturesqueness that were to be applied to themes of customs, scenes, types and Spanish landscapes, as a product of the influence of the Enlightenment. To this end, he was assisted by the architect Francesco Sabatini in the work of directing the Royal Factory and later (and in his absences) by Francisco Bayeu y Subías (appointed director after Mengs) and Mariano Salvador Maella. Young Spanish artists were hired, such as José del Castillo, Ginés Andrés de Aguirre, Antonio Barbazza, Mariano Nani, Zacarías González Velázquez, José Camarón Meliá and Ramón Bayeu.
While still in his 20s the painter Francisco Goya was commissioned to provide designs for tapestries to furnish El Escorial and El Pardo, two of the palaces in the Madrid region. He continued to provide designs until 1792 when he withdrew because of illness. Goya managed to combine in his work the styles of the previous schools and create one of his own, which henceforth characterized the Royal Factory until its decline after the reign of Charles IV and the War of Independence. Many of the Goya tapestry cartoons are displayed at the Museo del Prado.
Move to current location
The Royal Factory was originally located at the Puerta de Santa Bárbara, a gate on the northern side of Madrid. At the end of the 19th century, with the expansion of the city, production was moved to the present site on Fuenterrabía Street, not far from Atocha Railway Station. The new factory, built between 1881 and 1891, was designed by the architect José Segundo de Lema in Neo-Mudéjar style. The building was given a heritage listing Bien de Interés Cultural in 2006.
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