Biography

Nicolas (Colin) Bataille, French tapestry-weaver and dealer. He was one of the most successful of several French luxury textile merchants based mainly in Paris and Arras during the late 14th century and the only one whose work is known to have survived. He was a citizen of Paris and is referred to variously as a weaver of high-warp tapestries and a merchant. His second wife, Marguerite de Verdun, who came from a family of weavers in Troyes, continued his business after his death with his son Jean (b. ca. 1371).

Bataille provided innumerable hangings, as interesting in subject as they were precious in workmanship, for the king, his brothers, or his uncles, Philip the Hardy, Duke of Burgundy, and Louis I, Duke of Anjou, for the court, and even for foreign sovereigns, such as Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy. The outstanding example of his Parisian workshop is the famous Angers Apocalypse, which was begun in 1377 for the duke of Anjou. It is a monumental set originally including seven tapestries.

As a tapestry merchant, Bataille mediated between patrons and workshops, maintaining a stock of tapestries and cartoons, negotiating contracts, and advancing funds for materials.