The Month of June/The Sign of Cancer, from The Grotesque Months
c. 1726
Medium
Wool and silk, slit and double interlocking tapestry weave
Dimensions
71.5 × 293.7 cm (28 1/8 × 115 5/8 in.)
Classification
weaving - tapestry
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
75668
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This narrow panel and its companion belong to a suite known as The Grotesque Months, which depicts the 12 months of the year and their associated zodiac signs. A Roman deity, centrally positioned within a pergola, personifies each month. June, with the sign of Cancer—a crab—in the oval at the top of the tapestry, shows the messenger god Mercury. Above and below Mercury appear his associated attributes, including his emblematic rooster, and a miniature scene showing an episode from the tale of hi...