Why these are the most popular of our medieval tapestries? Is it their beauty, history, survival, imagery? There are about 40 versions of The Lady with the Unicorn tapestries on our website, from several European weavers. A few favourites are shown here.

Creation of The Lady with the Unicorn tapestries

The cartoons (original designs) for the tapestries were made in Paris and then they were woven in Flanders from wool and silk, probably in about 1511. The banners on each tapestry show the arms of Jean le Viste who was in the court of King Charles VII.

The limited range of colours adds to their cohesive visual strength but is due mainly to the limitations of the time. Dyes were extracted from plants and insects in a range of less than twenty colours: such as red came from madder, pomegranates or poppies, and blue from woad. (Woad was so profitable in 16th century France that importing it from the East was punishable by death: extreme protectionism!).

Imagery of The Lady with the Unicorn tapestries

Five of the tapestries feature the senses – taste, smell, sight, hearing and touch. The sixth has the enigmatic words “A Mon Seul Desir” written on the tent. These may translate literally as “To my only love” or “My sole desire” but what do they mean? Interestingly, this is the only tapestry where the lady smiles. Is she picking up or putting down the necklace; does it matter?

All show a unicorn on the left of the lady and a lion on her right. Unicorns represented purity and lions strength and valour. Some include monkeys, rabbits and birds. Each has a mille fleurs (thousand flowers) background of small flowers many with attributes and meanings commonly understood at the time. Mille fleurs tapestries were the dominant style of late 15th century French weaving.

Later history of The Lady with the Unicorn tapestries

Forgotten and lost, the six tapestries were discovered in the castle of Boussac in 1841 by the writer Prosper Mérimée in a poor conditions caused by dampness and rats. The novelist George Sands drew attention to them and they were acquired by the Cluny Museum in 1882. A poor restoration was made of the damaged lower portions causing the dyes to fade soon whereas the original colours have withstood the centuries.

The Lady with the Unicorn tapestries today

These national treasures of France are stunningly displayed in their own circular room at the Musee National du Moyen Age (Cluny Museum)– do note that this exhibit is closed from April to December 2013 for improvements to the room. The poor image below is a close-up I took years ago of A Mon Seul Desir.
Today they have inspired many musicians and authors and caught the imagination of many in Harry Potter films.

Both were strongly influenced by the Parisian art world and both rejected art of the establishment in their differing ways. Yet how different they were.

Amedeo Modigliani

Amedeo Modigliani was born in 1884 and died of tuberculosis in 1920, aged only 35. In 1903 he moved to Venice where the themes of his future life took root: art, alcohol and drugs, women and continuing sickness. Three years later he settled in Paris where these aspects of his life took full rein in Parisian bohemian artistic society.

In a Montmartre commune his lifestyle deteriorated from having a dapper appearance, drinking occasionally and writing home regularly to becoming an alcoholic and drug addict whose life was falling apart. His rejection of the past extended to destroying many of his early works.

Influences on his art progressed from Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec to Paul Cezanne. A series of nudes resulted in his only exhibition, in 1917, but it was closed by the police on the first day on obscenity grounds.

In 1917 he met Jeanne Hebuterne who is the model in our Modigliani tapestry Portrait of Woman in Hat. Sadly, she threw herself off a balcony the day after Modigliani’s death.

Why is it that so many great artists have such extreme personalities and succumb to such troubled minds? It’s as if aspects of their personalities are intensified. This often seems to result in more intense, inspired art. Thankfully, this is not a requirement – as illustrated by Monet.

Claude Monet

Claude Monet was born in 1840 and died in 1926, aged 86. His art turned away from established styles after 1862 when he was studying in Paris. With Renoir, Sisley and others, he began painting en plein air, concentrating on the perceived effects of sunlight; later termed Impressionism. These translate superbly into Impressionism tapestries, with the soft weave bringing the brushstrokes to life.

The first Impressionism exhibition of 1874 included his Impression, Sunrise. Like Modigliani he frequently painted his loves, in this case his wife Camille until her death from tuberculosis in 1879.

In 1883 he moved to Giverny with Alice Hoschede whom he later married. They raised their combined eight children in a setting where Monet had a fulfilled life painting the garden, lake and surrounding nature in the Seine valley. Over 1,100 paintings are attributed to him. I can never escape a mental picture of a rather cuddly looking man with a bushy beard sitting at an easel before lovely scenery. Am I sentimental? Nonetheless, this is such a stark contrast to sad Modigliani.

Whatever you preferences might be for art of the late 19th and early 20th centuries it is heartening to know that we have wall tapestries available reproducing some of these highlights: not just Monet and Modigliani, but also Renoir, Van Gogh, Degas, Cezanne, Gauguin and many of the Art Nouveau masters Klimt and Mucha. See over 70 Impressionist and related tapestries and nearly 50 Art Nouveau tapestries.

During the medieval period royalty and aristocracy valued tapestries so much that they would take them with them during travels within their domains. They would be set up in the court of the current residence. It is not surprising that the presence of status symbols such as these would lead to European monarchs wanting them in their own courts. Even better, they wanted them woven in their own countries; their own tapestries. They conveniently ignored the facts that Flemish weavers were responsible for every creative aspect. Weaving venues included Copenhagen, Stockholm, Madrid and St Petersburg.

English kings were no exception. In 1619 James I established the Mortlake tapestry weaving workshops on the River Thames importing weavers from Flanders. Nonetheless, the Flemish weavers continued with the design styles they were accustomed to, so no English style resulted. Royal patronage continued under Charles I. The Commonwealth naturally disapproved of such flamboyance and then Charles II showed little interest so the factory closed in 1703. In this same period a private workshop wove tapestries in Soho with Chinese and Indian influences.

Only in the latter 19th century did tapestry weaving in England resume. Two very different styles resulted.

The Royal Windsor Tapestry Manufactory was established in 1876 by two Frenchmen and staffed largely by French weavers from Aubusson. Starting with two low warp looms they grew to using 16 at the factory’s closure in 1890. They obtained significant support and patronage from Prince Leopold, Queen Victoria’s youngest son, until his sudden death in 1884.

Their tapestries were dramatic in the French style. In 1878 they won a gold medal in Paris for a series of eight tapestries, the Merry Wives of Windsor (click on above image for a full history). Intriguingly, the set disappeared, remerging at an auction in the 1970s. Queen Victoria commissioned designs and used the Royal Windsor Tapestry Works to repair tapestries in the royal collection. However the factory never broadened its clientele beyond royalty and the aristocracy. It was to take a different tapestry workshop, with very different ideals and styles, to attempt to do this: Morris & Co.

William Morris was the energetic visionary behind Morris & Co and the leading light of the Arts and Crafts Movement in Great Britain. In 1878 he visited Aubusson and described the weaving there as ‘a decaying commercial industry of ..rubbish‘. He had a high-warp loom of the medieval style built in his bedroom and at the beginning of each day taught himself to weave from an 18th century French craft manual. Morris & Co was a collaborative company of artists including Edward Burne-Jones who was responsible for many Morris & Co tapestries. He sometimes partnered with William Morris – Burne-Jones designing the figures and Morris the background which Morris & Co wove at Merton Abbey. Today we have an extensive selection of these Arts and Crafts tapestries available from Tapestry Art Designs. Examples are Acanthus and Vine (1879), The Woodpecker (1885), Flora (1885), and the “Holy Grail” series of the early 1890s.

Despite Morris’s enthusiasm for socialism in his later years they were never able to make their hand-woven tapestry masterpieces accessible to the average persons purse. From now on tapestry creations were in the hands of individual artisans. They worked a private craft producing one-off designs generally on a small scale, for tapestry weaving is time-consuming. A notable exception is the 75’ high tapestry of Christ in Glory in Coventry Cathedral.

I will not dwell upon the main facts re the Bayeux Tapestry other than summarise them if you are not familiar with it, but will focus on some personal responses to it.

You can see all the Bayeux Tapestry scenes in Wikipedia. The “tapestry” is actually an embroidery which was completed by 1077 for the dedication of the new Bayeux Cathedral. Measuring 230 feet long it shows about 50 scenes of the events of the conquest of England by the Normans sealed at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. I suspect that its remarkable creation was through the labour of nuns, for who else would have had the time in those days of hand-to-mouth existence?

I experienced a rather remarkable connection with the Bayeux Tapestry here on Vancouver Island 15 years ago. In a framing shop I met Ernie Stigant who is a descendant of Archbishop Stigant. Can you imagine having an ancestor who is shown, and named, on the Bayeux Tapestry? His ancestor, shown above,  served six succesive English kings and was excommunicated by five popes; clearly an interesting man.

A favourite scene now available has to be the one known as The Battle. Click on the image below to see details of the two sizes of this French tapestry we sell.
Unfortunately the other two scenes which particularly intrigue me are not reproduced as tapestries today. Firstly, we see the appearance of Halley’s Comet that fateful year. It only appears every 75 years so was naturally seen as an omen.

Consequently the death of Saxon King Harold, killed by an arrow in an eye, must have added to the fear present. Little did the archer responsible realise that his arrow caused one of the turning points in English history.
Please do browse through our selection of Bayeux tapestries – there are many scenes to enjoy.

Over three years ago we wrote a blog post about the steps involved in hanging a tapestry so this need not be repeated here. Less mechanical and more artistic is the positioning and the use of supplemental materials to create the required drama.

In medieval times wall tapestries were status symbols and this can be true today since everyone has framed prints but very few have a woven tapestry. With many homes today having hardwood floors and large windows it is necessary to soften the look and the sound of our rooms: tapestries are ideal for both purposes.

Another past blog post discussed display ideas for tapestries in the home and I want to expand upon this with our wall tapestries gallery of ideas from our other website. These illustrate a variety of tapestries in varying settings – living rooms, dining rooms, staircases, bedrooms and even a bathroom. I have scattered a few such images throughout this post but do look at the link above to see a further selection (none being shown here).

The result just has to be a more beautiful home.

As ever, these tapestries are mostly bright and bold with strong colours. However there are now more muted earth tones available too. I notice that the Andean influences remain naturally dominant but a few have a modernist even minimalist look (to my eyes which are not schooled in such matters).

We continue to catalogue them according to shape for your convenience (horizontal, vertical and square), thinking this better than using the themes. These include festivals, musicians, the cosmos, birds and fish to say nothing of those I can not identify.

These dramatic tapestries will create a stunning setting in a room. Some can be hung as themed pairs.

Each is hand-woven in Peru by artisan weavers blending contemporary and traditional Andean art motifs. The designs are available in just one size and have a rod pocket with an attached authentication certificate. Please note that the Peruvian tapestries are non-returnable.

Our tapestry website does have a category of best selling tapestries so this is a good starting point. I will edit it in order to present just one tapestry design from each of the major categories in our collection.

The Medieval section includes two very popular sub-categories: The Lady with the Unicorn tapestries and the Bayeux Tapestry. However the most popular design by far is The Knight Templar, available in two sizes.

William Morris dominates the Arts and Crafts section by his influence as well as his designs. The smallest version of his Tree of Life tapestry is our most popular tapestry overall. Personally, I much prefer the larger finely woven sizes.

Art Nouveau wall tapestries have grown in popularity in recent years, focussing on the works of Alphonse Mucha and Gustav Klimt. It is not surprising that the latter’s Kiss strikes a chord with many people.

Floral tapestries range from traditional bouquets and still lifes to contemporary-looking botanicals and some garden scenes. Top of this wide range is Rosa Gallica (my wife and I enjoy one in our dining room paired with FL195 Papavera Somniferum) which is from the early botanical illustrator Pierre-Joseph Redoute (1759-1840).

The selection of Impressionist tapestries has grown significantly. Take the Monet’s Garden tapestry  – last week we sold one of the 51″x83″ size to a local home. It looked great!

For Old Masters paintings now available as tapestry wallhangings The Girl with a Pearl Earing by Vermeer is a delight. The Belgian weavers have created a most satisfying reproduction. Such pieces are heirlooms of the past for the future.

French chateaux tapestries, generally Louis XIV palatial piles, are always well received, The Royal Palace especially. The 43″x59″ size is pefect above a fireplace or sofa.

The most popular landscape is a contemporary scene set at Lake Como, in three sizes. Imagine the appealling setting, sipping a glass of wine on the trattoria terrace!

Although scenes like the Lake Como one above sell most from our range of contemporary tapestries we should draw attention to a well received selection of contemporary floral designs like Because Of You.

Lastly, our Miscellaneous section is a pot pourri including animals, oriental, antique maps and nautical tapestries. Consider the Grand Harbour, finely woven in wool and cotton with an antique faded look which gives much character to a room.

We hope this selection has been a helpful guide. All are generally in stock for immediate shipping.

What is Pinterest? What is different about it? What is compelling about it?

Pinterest can be seen as a development of Google Images. Images are everything here with users taking their own photos, videos too, and those they encounter on the web which they place on their own online bulletin boards. They create these themed boards of their choice and add (pin) images of interest. Viewers can “follow” the creators and “like” their images, even placing (repinning) them on their own boards.

Thus Pinterest users can express their interests and dreams, sharing something of themselves with the world. So far I have never seen anything undesirable or stupid, users seem to enjoy saying “This is what I like or hope for.”

Pinterest for business

Below is a screenshot of some of our Pinterest boards for Tapestry Art. Today I added the two on the left: Van Gogh tapestries and Botanical wall art. Yesterday I added a board called Too mucha Mucha? No.. Within them I placed themed images of our tapestries. People can view these, go to our site, add them to their own boards, or just enjoy them.

Pinterest for pleasure

In time I will probably set up my own personal, non-business Pinterest page. I’ll probably have boards with topics like travel, architecture, art, gardens, design. It will express “me“. Even if no one else finds this interesting I will find it a fascinating exercise sourcing images which say something about who I am, what I like and respect and what I hope for. Is it any wonder Pinterest is meeting with such enthusiasm?

We enjoyed compiling it so hope you enjoy viewing it too. In just over two minutes we have presented a really good selection showing the many styles of tapestry art, old and new. There’s something for everyone: medieval and Arts & Crafts, landscapes and elegant classics, florals, handwoven traditional and contemporary designs.

Later this year we’ll put together one or two more tapestries videos and will place them on our YouTube channel. I was rather pleased at the way the hauntingly interesting music on this video fitted the chosen images timeline so we’ll try to come up with new challenges next time. Until then, happy viewing!