Detail View: The AMICA Library: The Philosophers

The presence of resident scholars and philosophers often represents not only the value society places on education, but also the sophistication of royal courts. This scene was created as part of a series of tapestry designs intended to stress the grandeur, refinement, and stability of a government center that was directed by a widowed queen at a time when it was thought that only kings should rule.

The museum owns a complete set of eight tapestries that show scenes from the life of the widowed Greek queen Artemisia, who was responsible for directing her country until her young son was old enough to assume his duties as king. The tapestries were woven in France during the 17th century and were commissioned by the widowed French queen, Marie de Medici, whose own life shared similar challenges with this ancient Greek heroine.