THUS Tapistry of old, the Walls adorn'd,
Title:
A Description of One of the Pieces of Tapistry at Long-Leat, made after the famous Cartons of Raphael; in which, Elymas, the Sorcerer is miraculously struck blind by St. Paul before Sergius Paulus, the Proconsul of Asia. Inscrib'd to the Honble HENRY THYNNE under the Name of THEANOR. Primary Text:
No MS; 1713 Misc, 66-71*. Secondary Ed:
Rpt of 1713: 1903 Reynolds, 47-50. Comment:
This poem celebrates the learning, culture, and kindness of Henry Thynne (see above "To the Painter of an ill-drawn Picture". Henry Thynne was a patron of the arts, a lover of poetry and painting; he taught his daughters and Elizabeth Singer Rowe to read Italian, and perhaps encouraged Anne Finch to keep and revise her Aminta, this time using the Italian; in her poem the beauty of the colored wools entrances Finch, so too the eloquence of Raphael's portrayal of silent psychological expressions; her theme seems to be the inadequacy of words before painting; she also identifies with tapestry as a female art. Finch's use of Arachne in her poetry has been called attention to more than once; see also her "The Goute and Spider:" "When from th'Infernal pitt two Furies rose . . ." Date:
The terminus ad quem is December 20, 1708 when Henry Thynne died.
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