BATAILLE, Nicolas

(b. ~1330 ?, d. ~1405 ?)

Nicolas (Colin) Bataille, French tapestry-weaver and dealer. He was one of the most successful of several French luxury textile merchants based mainly in Paris and Arras during the late 14th century and the only one whose work is known to have survived. He was a citizen of Paris and is referred to variously as a weaver of high-warp tapestries and a merchant. His second wife, Marguerite de Verdun, who came from a family of weavers in Troyes, continued his business after his death with his son Jean (b. ca. 1371).

Bataille provided innumerable hangings, as interesting in subject as they were precious in workmanship, for the king, his brothers, or his uncles, Philip the Hardy, Duke of Burgundy, and Louis I, Duke of Anjou, for the court, and even for foreign sovereigns, such as Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy. The outstanding example of his Parisian workshop is the famous Angers Apocalypse, which was begun in 1377 for the duke of Anjou. It is a monumental set originally including seven tapestries.

As a tapestry merchant, Bataille mediated between patrons and workshops, maintaining a stock of tapestries and cartoons, negotiating contracts, and advancing funds for materials.

King Arthur

John of Berry collected and commissioned numerous large tapestries. A large tapestry series about the Nine Worthies was very likely an extravagant gift from his brother, the Duke of Anjou. Produced under the supervision of Nicolas Bataille, these tapestries represent high-born heroes of chivalric tales, such as King Arthur and Hector of Troy.

The picture shows King Arthur from the Series of the Nine Worthies.

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The Harlot Seated on the Beast

Louis II, Duke of Anjou, the brother of Charles V, commissioned Jean Bondol of Bruges (active 1368-1381) to execute the project for the so_called Angers Apocalypse Tapestries. This was a significant contribution to the International Style, measuring about 5 m high and 143 m in length. The impressive hangings, consisting of seven sections with scenes from the Book of Revelation, were to decorate the walls of his palace in Angers. Jean Bondol was employed to compose the cartoons in line drawings for the series, and Charles’s tapestry weaver, Nicolas Bataille executed them in his Parisian workshop sometime between 1377 and 1379. Bondol apparently took his inspiration from an illustrated Apocalypse manuscript, although he obviously exercised many liberties in composing the ninety-odd scenes. The tapestries resemble, in fact, magnified miniatures adjusted in scale for mural presentation.

The picture shows one of the scenes of the tapestry.

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