During the 16th and 17th centuries, Brussels became the capital of European tapestry production with large factories established by Pieter van Aelst and Pieter Pannemaker.
Among the Flemish weaver’s great and noble clients were the Austrian Habsgurgs, Sigismund ll of Poland, and Pope Leo X, for whom van Aelst wove the “Acts of the Apostles (1515-1519; Victoria and Albert Musum), after cartoons by Raphael for the Sistine Chapel. With this series he introduced the Italian Renaissance style and the practice of copying paintings to European tapestry design.
Widely admired, Flemish weavers established workshops throughout Europe during the 16th and 17th . at Ferrara, Italy, Jan and Nicolaus Carcher served Ercole ll d’Este; Jan Rost, Nicolaus Carcher , and Jan van der Straet(Stradanus) supervised the tapestry workshop in Florence of Cosimo l de’Medici. The first series woven on the Florentine looms was the :History of Joseph” (1547-1550; Palazzo Vecchio, Florence), designes by the Mannerist painter Angelo Bronzino. In the late 16th century Josse Jean Lanckeert and Frans Spierincx moved to Delft, the Netherlands, from Antwerp, Belgium; at about the same time Flemish weavers established workshops in germany – at Stuttgart (Jacob Carmes0, Frankenthall (Pierre de Waeyere and Everard Van Orley), and Munich (Jan van der Biest). In 1620 a royal tapestry factory was established at Mortlake, England, with Josse of Bruges, Belgium, in charge of chiefly workers and weavers.