The collection invites
A new concept in displaying the collection
The works that are part of ‘The collection invites’ belong to private collectors with whom MCBA has built up a friendship and relationship of trust over the years. The loans that result from that connection are relatively long term, lasting up to eighteen months in some cases. Our aim is to create unexpected juxtapositions and links with the pieces that form the museum’s permanent collection, which is far from frozen in place, as people often think. It is constantly changing in fact. The ‘invited’ artworks may indicate new directions for the collection’s future development, point up gaps in its ranks, and suggest possible associations. They allow visitors to discover for a limited time and in an exceptional way rarely seen artworks that have been generously lent out by their owners.
"Vespasien et Titus acclamés"
1677-1688, Gerard Peemans studio after designs by Charles Poerson
This Flemish tapestry is part of a series of wall hangings featuring eight subjects based on the history of the Roman generals Vespasian and his son Titus during the First Jewish-Roman War (66-73). In the course of that war Roman troops were able to put down the Jewish insurrection, notably by retaking the city of Jerusalem in the year 70 CE. The eight subjects in the series were done after designs created by the French painter Charles Poerson and woven in the Brussels workshop of Gerard Peemans. The tapestries illustrate the two generals’ military campaign in Judea as it is told in ancient sources like Flavius Josephus’s The Jewish War. The wall hangings depict the most significant events of the conflict such as Joseph mené prisonnier devant Vespasien et Titus [The Prisoner Josephus Led Before Vespasian and Titus]; L’Assaut d’une ville [The Assault on a City], on the taking of Jerusalem; and Le Triomphe de Titus et Vespasien [The Triumph of Titus and Vespasian], on the pair’s triumphal entry in Rome. The series includes more generic subjects as well, making it possible, should the client wish, to eliminate certain episodes without marring the overall narrative. Vespasien et Titus acclamés [Vespasian and Titus Applauded] shows Vespasian (in the blue tunic) and his son Titus (to the right of his father) delivering the solemn speech known as an adlocutio to their troops, a scene often given a conventional treatment in Roman art. Soldiers lend an attentive ear to the two men as an officer crowns Vespasian with the laurel wreath signifying a military triumph. The use of the classic adlocutio composition allowed those who commissioned the work to immediately grasp the overall meaning of the image, i.e., two generals’ victory over the enemy, offering an example to follow and by extension drawing a subtle parallel with the patron himself. Indeed, tapestry was an extremely costly commodity and intended for the wealthiest classes, which included many men who had had a military career.
The Toms Pauli Foundation conserves five tapestries from the history of Vespasian and Titus, two of which, L’Assaut d’une ville and Le Triomphe de Titus et Vespasien, are on display until 8 March 2026 as part of the show Tisser son Temps. Goshka Macuga x Grayson Perry x Mary Toms [Times in Tapestry. Goshka Macuga x Grayson Perry x Mary Toms] at mudac, the Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts.
- Vespasien et Titus acclamés, 1677-1688, Brussels, workshop of Gerard Peemans, after designs by Charles Poerson.
Wool and silk, 380 x 407 cm, 10 warp threads per cm.
The Toms Pauli Foundation, Lausanne, inv. Toms 028, Collection of the State of Vaud. Photo by Cedric Bregnard.
The Toms Pauli Foundation
Created in the year 2000 by the State of Vaud, the Toms Pauli Foundation has been an integral part of the Plateforme 10 arts district in Lausanne since 2020. The foundation is active both in Switzerland and internationally. Its mission is to study, conserve, and promote its collection of textile art. This legacy includes a prestigious collection of European tapestry and embroidery from the 16th to the 19th century, along with a set of 20th-century textile pieces, which is the property of the State of Vaud.
The various works making up the foundation’s collection can be seen in temporary exhibitions in Switzerland and abroad. Except for special invitations, as is the case here for the Vespasien et Titus acclamés tapestry, the foundation’s pieces are not part of the display of the MCBA permanent collection.