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A History Of Tapestry
Tapestries have been used way back in the Middle Ages, as much for the protection they gave against the cold winds as for decoration. The elaborately decorated hangings covered openings and acted as canopies around beds - mainly by kings, queens and Lords. They would roll up the tapestries as they travelled from Castle to Castle. Large churches and cathedrals also hung them to illustrate the Bible stories for their congregations who couldn't read.
The oldest surviving set of mediaeval tapestries is the Apocalypse of Angers, projects commissioned in about 1379 from Paris Weaver. The seven hangings where each 16.5 feet high and up to 80 feet long, but during this period of time, there were intermittent wars and the tapestries often changed hands after battles. The victor would then use them to cover larger or smaller doorways and windows, so they were sometimes cut up or sewn together to join up to other tapestries.
Production of tapestries were centred around Paris until the Hundred Years War. This caused all weavers to flee north to Flanders, which is now Belgium in Northern France. Many of the best-known tapestries, such as the 'Lady With The Unicorn,' were produced during the end of the 15th century. Around 15,000 people were employed to make these scenes of Lords and their ladies, with peasants set in the background. Painters came up with the idea as a cartoon originally and then the weavers extract the dyes, mostly from plants, in up to 12 colours. The weavers then dyed the thread and only then began their weaving. They worked with English wool, Italian silk and silver and gold thread, which came from Cyprus. A skilled weaver took nearly 2 months to complete just one square foot. These skills were often passed through the male generation of the family.
In the early 1500's, combat and hunting scenes were commissioned by the aristocracy. Charles V was even accompanied into battle by his painter, who made sketches at the site to later be turned into tapestries. Hunting scenes became lush landscapes which in turn developed romanticised Pastoral designs.
The Pope's commissioning of Raphael to produce 'Acts of the Apostles,' introduce the idea of perspective and composition and things have progressed so much by then that the weavers could use finer yarns dyed in about 300 colour shades. This led to tapestries imitating paintings, even to the point of having heavily woven 'picture frames.' The creative control was now in the hands of the painter.
In 1660, during the reign of Louis XIV, Les Gobelins factory was founded in Paris. It employed 800 Artisans and by the time of his death, an inventory of the King's furniture contains no less than 2155 tapestries!
During the French Revolution, any tapestries that were found were burned for their gold and silver threads. At the same time the introduction of the Jacquard Loom in Flanders, enabled tapestries to become accessible to a wider market, and it still forms the basis of the techniques we use today.
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