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Pygmalion from Stories from Ovid

Unknown artist, c. 1675

5 m × 2.11 m

Longer than a car. Stood on end it is 2.9 people tall.

Against things you know the size of

Height: 2.11 m
Width: 5 m
Medium: Wool and silk, slit and double interlocking tapestry weave Warp: Count: 6 warps per cm; wool: S-ply of three Z-spun elements; diameters: 0.7–1.0 mm Weft: Count: varies from 16 to 32 wefts per cm; wool: pairs of S-ply of two Z-spun elements; diameters: 0.6–1.2 mm; silk: pairs of S-ply of two Z-twisted elements; diameters: 0.7–1.0 mm
Kind: Textile
Made in: Antwerp
Where the measurement comes from: Measured by the museum. The dimension is the one recorded by the institution that holds the work.
As the museum records it: 500.3 × 210.8 cm (196 7/8 × 83 in.)
Why this differs from the record: Recorded as 2.11 m × 5 m. Hung the other way up, because the photograph of it is.
Credit: Gift of Mrs. Arthur Cutten

Five questions, answered from its own record. What is AGAI?

How big is it?: 5 m × 2.11 m. Longer than a car. Measured by the museum.
When was it made, and when is it everyone’s?: Made c. 1675. It is in the public domain, and The Art Institute of Chicago publishes it for open use.
Whose is it?: Everyone’s to see. It is held by The Art Institute of Chicago: Gift of Mrs. Arthur Cutten.
How was it made?: Wool and silk, slit and double interlocking tapestry weave Warp: Count: 6 warps per cm; wool: S-ply of three Z-spun elements; diameters: 0.7–1.0 mm Weft: Count: varies from 16 to 32 wefts per cm; wool: pairs of S-ply of two Z-spun elements; diameters: 0.6–1.2 mm; silk: pairs of S-ply of two Z-twisted elements; diameters: 0.7–1.0 mm, made in Antwerp.
Who speaks for it?: Its record at The Art Institute of Chicago. Measured by the museum. This gallery adds nothing it cannot cite.

One email. The smallest thing in the collection, the largest, and two that hang well together.

Scored on colour, shape, era and scale, the same way the gallery hangs them.