Royal Tapestry Factory
Native name Spanish: Real Fábrica de Tapices
The tall chimney is used in the production of dyes.
Location	Madrid, Spain
Coordinates	40°24′22″N 3°40′57″W / 40.406069°N 3.682483°W / 40.406069; -3.682483
Spanish Cultural Heritage
Official name	Real Fábrica de Tapices
Type	Non-movable
Criteria	Monument
Designated	2006
Reference no.	RI-51-0011608
Location of Royal Tapestry Factory in Spain

The Royal Tapestry Factory (Spanish: Real Fábrica de Tapices de Santa Bárbara) is a manufacturing plant located in Madrid, Spain, which was founded in 1720.

History

The factory was founded by Philip V after Spain lost its Belgian territories, and their tapestry workshops, as a result of the Peace of Utrecht. A master weaver was recruited from Antwerp.^[1] The project was followed by a number of other mercantilist initiatives undertaken in the eighteenth century in the Madrid area to supply luxury goods. Another example was the Real Fábrica del Buen Retiro porcelain factory.

Like its French counterpart the Gobelins Manufactory, the Royal Tapestry Factory supplied the court with tapestries. In its beginnings it was managed by Jacobo Vandergoten and his family, who came from Antwerp and occupied an estate on the outskirts of Madrid, next to the Puerta de Santa Barbara, from which the Royal Factory takes its name. Low-warp looms were installed, based on models made by court painters. Flemish models were followed in these early years, from the school of David Teniers III and Philips Wouwerman. In 1734, his son Jacob Vandergoten "the Younger" inaugurated another factory working the more modern "high-warp".

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 a novel, also stand out.

Anton Rafael Mengs introduces a neoclassical concept in the composition not exempt from the picturesqueness that now will be applied to themes of customs, scenes, types and Spanish landscapes, 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.^[2] Young Spanish artists were hired, such as José del Castillo, Ginés Andrés de Aguirre, Antonio Barbazza, Mariano Nani, Zacarías González Velázquez,^[3] José Camarón Meliá and Ramón Bayeu.

The Parasol. A 1777 design by Goya. It is one of the cards that Goya delivered to the Royal Factory in 1775, the year he arrived to supply models that were later converted into tapestries.

While still in his 20s the painter Francisco Goya was commissioned to provide designs (known as cartoons^[4]) for tapestries to furnish El Escorial and El Pardo, two of the palaces in the Madrid region.^[5] 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.

Building

The 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, the Royal Factory moved its activity to premises on Fuenterrabía Street, built between 1881 and 1891. The new building, in neo-Mudejar style, was designed by the architect José Segundo de Lema. It regained its status as a Royal Factory in 1982 and in 1992 it was consolidated and renovated.

The factory has occupied its present site, not far from Atocha station, since the nineteenth century. The nineteenth century building is itself is of historical interest. It was given a heritage listing Bien de Interés Cultural in 2006.^[6]

Current activities

In the 1990s the factory was running at a loss and received a bail-out from public funds. It became a foundation under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture with the aim of providing a secure basis for the future. Although further issues related to profitability have been reported, the factory still produces traditional tapestries and carpets,^[7] continuing the three-hundred-year tradition of artisan production of tapestries and carpets with the aim of keeping alive this cultural institution and the craftsmanship of its own crafts, which are in the process of disappearing.

The Foundation also aims to conserve and disseminate historical artistic treasures and to continue the task of reproducing the designs of contemporary artists, as it did in the 20th century with works by Josep Maria Sert, Manuel Viola, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí, among other renowned painters.

After Manuela Carmena became mayor of Madrid in 2015 issues came to light regarding the continued rent-free residence of the former owner and factory director, Livinio Stuyck, in a 700m² duplex apartment atop the factory. There were allegations of squatting, and an attempt to impose fines.^[1]

In 2016 the Royal Tapestry Factory Foundation avoided bankruptcy thanks to a new management model and, above all, two major tapestry commissions. The Royal Tapestry Factory worked on a tapestry of almost 21 square meters on the massacre of Sabra and Chatila, as well as on the reproduction of 32 German tapestries that were destroyed in Dresden during World War II.

In addition, the institution continues to restore outstanding examples of Spanish textile art, and rents space for cultural events and other activities. As well as producing new pieces, it is involved in the conservation of historic textiles. The Factory exhibits an important collection of carpets, tapestries, and tools. The garden boasts a collection of dye plants and plant species used to obtain textile fibres, such as cotton or linen.^[8]

See also

• List of Francisco Goya's tapestry cartoons
• Real Fábrica de Cristales de La Granja

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Real Fábrica de Tapices.