What is the difference between tapestry and tapestry. Handmade tapestries - a business for creative people

It’s funny that now a carpet on the wall is not comme il faut, but a tapestry - it’s creative, fashionable, modern.

Handmade tapestries

Today I will talk about tapestries, or rather, how to create a creative business based on this craft. The ancient Egyptians and Greeks knew tapestries; medieval knights decorated their castles with them; such artists as Raphael and Goya created scenes for them, and now they are no less relevant.

Woven paintings are a fairly broad topic, as there are tapestries (trellises) that are created industrially and tapestries that are handmade. The first is real fabric, used for upholstering furniture, creating bedspreads and other textiles for interiors or, practically, woven paintings, and to create such beauty by hand, you will have to spend half your life. The latter are often made deliberately roughly - from thick threads and with a noticeable weave. But this does not make them less beautiful, it’s just that they are practically an independent industry, which is united with the first by a common name and some techniques.

Classic tapestries

Types of tapestries

Nowadays, carpets created using different techniques are called tapestries. Sometimes, even radically different from the traditional one.

• smooth (planar) – created using traditional techniques;
• textured (relief) - the technique is traditional, but some parts of the product are distinguished by larger (convex) stitches, creating a relief fabric;
• multi-level - different weaving techniques, relief, embroidery, etc. are used.
• non-woven - these are fabric paintings created using other techniques: appliqué, thread printing, knitting, embroidery, isothread;
• volumetric-spatial - these are actually not so much paintings as structures that are additional element room design.

Volumetric tapestries by Yu.N. Hovsepyan

If you decide to engage in this creativity, it doesn’t matter just for the soul or for earning money, gradually you will develop your own style, own techniques and as a result, your work will become unique. That is, something will appear that makes these things interesting for buyers and raises their value. That is why you should not use ready-made schemes, create your own. It’s not for nothing that this business is called creative.

Tapestry making technique

I won’t go into all the details; I’ll list the main points. You will need a machine to work and the larger your products are, the larger it should be. In essence, this is hand weaving, which is based on the technique of plain weaving of warp and weft threads. You can make the machines yourself if there is a handy man in the family or order them online. For small products, for example, if you use this technique to create souvenirs, bags and some other accessories, you can make a machine from scrap materials. The main thing is that you can evenly tension the warp threads and then weave in a comfortable position.

If earlier threads from natural materials (wool, flax, silk, cotton) with the addition of gold or silver threads were used for work, now tapestries are mainly woven from artificial and synthetic threads.

First, they draw the future tapestry, apply this design to warp threads stretched on a machine (or place cardboard with a design under the work and focus on it), then begin to reproduce it in color with threads.

The most important point is to maintain the distances between the threads to create a clear, correct pattern. Having prepared the warp threads, they begin to create a pattern, fasten the first transverse thread and begin to stretch it between them alternately above and below the thread. The completed row is compacted with a wooden strip, which also serves to separate the warp threads into even and odd, and also helps regulate the tension of the threads.

A braid is woven along the edge of the weaving, leveling the edge with it, and a special linen earnings are woven vertically on top of it, which is then folded onto the end of the stretcher if the tapestry is intended to be stretched and inserted into the frame in the future, or hemmed on the wrong side if the finished product will hang directly on wall. On the other hand, weaving also ends with earnings.

The work is painstaking, requiring perseverance and accuracy. If necessary, the finished canvas is supplemented with some other elements - embroidery, appliqués, fringe, etc.

How to make money from tapestries

The options are generally traditional for any needlework and craft, but I think it’s worth listing them:

1. Making tapestries. This is the main source of income for craftsmen. Moreover, if you modestly distribute them among your friends, piteously looking into the eyes of each buyer, then the price will be the same; if you start promoting your own brand, participating in exhibitions, advertising your products on the Internet and generally presenting yourself as the discovery of the century :), then the price will be completely different.

I write so angrily on purpose, in the hope that the craftswomen who read me will also be “angry” and will have great respect for their own talent. Why is it often someone’s publicized daub oil paints costs millions, but the long, painstaking work into which the craftswoman puts her whole soul costs pennies?

2. Master classes. Now you can transfer your skills by giving both real lessons and conducting classes via Skype. This means that finding students who want to learn this beautiful art is now much easier than before.

3. Video lessons. They can be posted on YouTube, on your own blog, in social networks. But how to make money from this? That's what advertising is for. Placed next to the video, it will attract people's attention, they will click on it, and you will get paid for it.

4. Website. This could be a personal blog, where there will be information not only about your products, but also articles on other topics, video tutorials, diagrams, etc. It could just be an online store where you will sell tapestries and perhaps something else, for example, everything needed to create them. Or all of the above can be combined into one portal. This will help attract not only potential buyers, but also other visitors, and the more traffic, the more earnings from advertising and other methods of monetizing the site. Such sites already exist on the Internet, so this is a completely working option.

5. Training course or e-book. Many craftswomen follow this path (you can see examples of such courses and books), and they not only create training courses, but also sell patterns for work, ready-made kits, etc.

I hope that this article about such a beautiful creative business will be useful to someone, will lead to some thoughts and will force them to reconsider their earning potential.

When visiting elite art exhibitions or original gift shops, the first thing that catches your eye, despite the huge rich assortment, is, of course, the sophistication and beauty of tapestry paintings.

The professional execution and variety of subjects of these works delight both art aesthetes and ordinary people who are indifferent to elements of interior decoration. Today, tapestry paintings are extremely popular, since they are presented in various stylistic directions.

On them you can see colorful landscapes, religious scenes, realistic still lifes, reproductions of paintings by famous artists - from classical themes to modern design trends.

If you are going to buy a tapestry painting, then do right choice, because with the purchase of this wonderful product, your interior will be distinguished by special sophistication and individuality. The painting will be the finishing touch to the decor. But in order for it to be combined with the interior, you should take into account its contents and the characteristics of the room in which it will be located. For example, cityscapes are neutral, so they can be placed in any room. With still lifes the situation is different: it is more appropriate to place them in the kitchen or dining room than in the bedrooms. Portraits, reproductions of paintings by artists and religious subjects are ideal for decorating the interior of halls, living rooms and bedrooms.

Paintings made from tapestry fabric pleasantly surprise with their variety of sizes. Thanks to this, you can choose a painting of the size that is ideal for placement in your room. For such complex areas of walls as niches and narrow partitions, which are problematic to decorate, vertical tapestry paintings are perfect. Long and narrow horizontal paintings will fit perfectly into the free space above the sofa.

Tapestry without frames (without baguette)

Paintings made from tapestry fabric can be purchased in a baguette or without a frame. A tapestry without a baguette is also called “coupon”. What are its advantages? The finished frame may not suit your taste or interior design. Therefore, the coupon does not limit you, since you can purchase absolutely any baguette or use your imagination and frame the picture yourself. To do this, you just need to contact a framing workshop, where they will help you choose from hundreds of framing options exactly the one whose frame will best suit the plot of the picture, interior design and your financial capabilities.

The tapestry coupon is also very convenient for transportation or forwarding. It can be easily rolled and wrapped, so sending such a tapestry to your destination or taking it with you on a trip as a gift will not be difficult. But transporting a framed painting is much more difficult and somewhat problematic.

Tapestry for ribbon embroidery

A frameless tapestry has another advantage: it is very convenient for creative activities, for example, ribbon embroidery. You will be able to independently create a unique work of art, or reproduce scenes from domestic and foreign artists such as Goryachev, Dandorf, Weber, Kruger and many others.

With a tapestry for ribbon embroidery, you will usefully spend your free time, realizing your creative potential and revealing the secret corners of your imagination. And the product created by your hands will decorate the interior of your home, causing the admiration of family members and guests. Be sure to try this handicraft; perhaps you have a huge talent that you were not aware of before.

Where to buy tapestry paintings in Moscow?

The Literi online store offers a wide selection of paintings made from tapestry fabric, which are perfect not only as an exquisite interior decoration detail, but also as original gift family members, relatives, friends, work colleagues and managers. It is much more profitable to buy tapestry paintings in Moscow from us, unlike many other stores, since we set reasonable prices for these exclusive products.

You can find out the information you are interested in and place an order by calling: 8 495 212 13 80.

During our great French trip, we were able to get acquainted with two extraordinary works of ancient weaving and embroidery. The first is in Angers, the second is the Bayeux tapestry. You should come to this city just to see with your own eyes the grandiose creation of embroiderers (or embroiderers?), which is almost 1000 years old! Of course, no online source can replace the impression of the real thing. But it can give an idea of ​​the grandiose work of ancient masters. And at the same time, it will refresh your memory the most important episode Medieval history of England - its conquest by William (Guillaume) the Conqueror in 1066.
Let's start with a brief historical background - this way it will be clearer to understand the events of the tapestry.
1051 The lands of the Anglo-Saxons are ruled by King Edward the Confessor, nephew of the Norman Duke Richard II. The Lord did not give him children (there is a legend that he did not love his wife and remained a virgin), he proclaimed as his heir the young Norman Duke Guillaume (in England he is called William), his cousin.
1064-1065. Another contender for the throne, Harold was the brother of Queen Edith, wife of Edward the Confessor. In 1064-1065, Harold was captured by Guy I de Pontier. William the Conqueror ransomed him from captivity and Harold was forced to recognize the savior as heir to the throne, swore allegiance and promised him his support.
1066 Death of King Edward the Confessor. The English council "Witengamot" recognized Harold as king. They did not need William, because the stranger would begin to oppress the local nobility, take away their lands and titles and give gifts to his Norman associates. Harold took the throne. William immediately accused him of perjury, assembled a squadron, defeated the English troops at Hastings and reigned on the English throne. Harold died during the battle.

We will provide technical and historical details below as we look at the tapestry's many scenes. “Tapestry” in this case is named so conventionally. In fact, it is made using the technique of embroidery with wool threads on linen fabric. The pictures are taken from the official website of the Bayeux Tapestry Museum.

The events of 1064-1066 depicted in the tapestry constitute an independent view of events, which differs somewhat from the surviving written sources. And if the descriptions of the main events generally coincide with written sources, then in detail they often contradict them. The laconic nature of the tapestry text does not explain the reason for the discrepancies.

It should be noted that some events are deliberately not entirely clear. For example, about the mission that Edward the Confessor entrusted to Harold at the beginning of the story or about the contents of King Edward's will. The author undoubtedly knew about different interpretations events on both sides of the English Channel.

JOURNEY TO NORMANDY
Scene 1. At the very beginning, the carpet was badly damaged, but it was carefully restored. The King of England since 1042, Edward the Confessor, speaks with his son-in-law, Earl of Wessex, Harold, probably in the Palace of Westminster. Harold was at the time the most powerful aristocrat in the country and a contender for the throne. Harold (right), hawk in hand, then sets off for the south coast to his estate Bosham in Sussex with his retinue and hunting dogs.

Scene 2. Harold and his companion enter the temple at Bosham to pray for safe sailing. They feast in one of the many palaces of Harold's estate in Bosham (note the drinking horn, such utensils were extremely common in Scandinavian circles) and set off on a peaceful campaign - none of the retinue is armed. Why - historians know nothing. Harold boards the ship and sets sail. He still holds the hawk in his hands.

Scene 3. A fair wind carries the ships and Harold crosses the English Channel. From the mast they watch the shore through the fog. This is Ponthieu, the land of the powerful Duke Guy I de Ponthieu. Harold is shown twice here. On the left, he stands on a ship, ready to step ashore. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he was seized by the Duke's men, who leads them, sitting on a horse to the right.

CAPTURED
Scene 1. Although Harold is now a prisoner, he is treated with respect. In the center of the scene he is depicted on horseback with his hawk, riding towards Beaurain. On the right, Guy I de Pontier on the throne talks with Harold.

Scene 2. In the next three parts, the sequence of events is shown in reverse order. Two envoys arrive from Lord William of Normandy to the Duke de Guy and demand Harold's release. It is known that this scene depicts Turold, the nephew of Bishop Odo of Bayeux. Turold is either the little man to the left of center stage, or one of the two messengers to the right. It is conveyed how furiously these horsemen—Wilhelm’s envoys—gallop—their hair flutters in the wind, they are full of a serious intention to announce to de Guy the will of his master.

Scene 3 This scene should actually be the first of three. William receives news that Duke Guy has captured Harold. Guy obeys the order and brings Harold to meet Wilhelm. Guy is on a blue horse, he points to Harold riding behind him, both holding hawks.

STRANGER

Scene 1. William and Harold, accompanied by soldiers, ride to William's palace in Rouen. (The Norman is now shown with a hawk!) William is sitting as Harold speaks to him. A mysterious episode is also depicted here. Two figures appear on the tapestry: a lady, her name is Aelfgyva (she is definitely English) and a clergyman. They seem to have no connection with the event, but the event must have been well known in the 11th century. Most likely, the scene is related to a love scandal. The lower case depicts a naked man.

BROTHERS IN ARMS
Scene 1. Harold accompanies William and the Norman soldiers on a campaign against Conan of Brittany, Duke of Brittany. They pass Mount Saint-Michel, the border between Normandy and Brittany.

To get to Brittany you need to cross the river and the army barely escapes the quicksand. Warriors raise their shields above their heads to prevent them from getting wet. Several soldiers fall into quicksand and Harold saves two at once!

Scene 2. The Norman army attacks Dol and Duke Conan escapes by rappelling out of the castle - in the center there is a small man rappelling from the tower. Pursuing Conan, the Normans reach Rennes, the capital of Brittany.

Scene 3. The Normans overtook Conan in Dinan. In battle, horsemen throw spears, soldiers try to set fire to defensive fortifications. Conan gives up. At the tip of a spear, he gives William the keys to Dinan. The campaign is over. For his faithful service, William rewards Harold with weapons and knights him. This ritual was well known in France, but in England at this time such a tradition did not exist. This scene also signifies Harold's recognition of William as his overlord. From a Norman point of view this scene is extremely important.

OATH
Scene 1. William and Harold return to Normandy and arrive in Bayeux. In this episode there is an illustration of the castle in Bayeux, it was built in the 10th century and destroyed in the 18th.

This is the climactic scene, on the holy relics Harold swears an oath of allegiance to William (image in the center). In the presence of the Norman Duke, Harold places his hands on two relics and swears allegiance to the overlord. The text of the oath is not known, but, most likely, Harold gave his word in the event of the death of King Edward not to prevent William from taking the vacant English throne. But did Harold really promise support to William? This scene is key to the entire unfolding drama of the tapestry - it will be followed by the death of Harold and the collapse of his entire family. But at least the English count is free and returning to England.

RETURN
Scene 1. Harold talks with King Edward the Confessor and tells him about his adventures. The king is depicted as old, weak and sick. However, in fact, at this time he was quite healthy, although at that time he was already 62 years old.

DEATH OF A KING
Scene 1. The events of the next year are left unattended by the author of the tapestry. The story continues with the events of January 5, 1066, when King Edward the Confessor of England died. Here the chronology of the story is broken. The tapestry shows first the burial scene and then the death scene. On the left we see the funeral procession to the great new church of Westminster Abbey. Edward was very ill and was not present at the consecration of the new temple on December 28, 1065. Although the temple is his brainchild, he built the cathedral on a scale hitherto unseen on the north side of the English Channel. A palace is depicted in the center. In the Upper House, we see King Edward in bed, talking to his loyal subjects, including Harold and his wife, Queen Edith. Whether he named Harold or Wilhelm as his successor on his deathbed is unknown; each researcher offers his own version. In the lower chamber of the palace, the king is shown dead, with a priest standing next to him. On the right, two noble courtiers offer Harold a crown and an ax, symbols of royal power. Harold accepts the regalia.

LONG LIVE THE KING!
Scene 1. On the morning of January 6, 1066, the king was buried, and in the afternoon Harold’s coronation ceremony takes place. The new king sits on the throne, his entourage stands on his left hand, and Archbishop Stigand of Canterbury stands on his right. The Anglo-Saxon nobles present at the coronation are easily identified by their weapons: they are armed with large battle axes. In the background, people welcome the new king. A “star with hair” appears – this is Halley’s Comet. An earlier image of her than on the Bayeux Tapestry has not yet been found.

The people are horrified - the appearance celestial body perceived as an ominous sign. Scene left - Harold is informed about the comet and the newly-crowned king accepts the news with fear. In the lower case there are several ghostly ships depicted, this is an indication of the coming Norman invasion.

PLANNING AN INVASION
Scene 1. News reached Duke William of Normandy across the English Channel about the death of Edward and the accession of Harold: we see an English ship sailing away to warn him about what had happened. The Duke is furious - he already saw himself as an English king and considered Harold a usurper. He decides to go to war with England and gathers a fleet of ships. To his left is Bishop Odo of Bayeux, his maternal half-brother. Odo appears for the first time in this scene.

Scene 2: William's men prepare an invasion and build a fleet. Lumberjacks cut down trees and make planks out of them. Ships are built from planks and launched into the sea. These tapestry scenes are the most famous and very bright and lively. We see carpenters with axes, the fitting of boards and the appearance of a ship, in the bow it is decorated with a dragon. We know that William also requisitioned all the ships available to the Norman nobles, but this is not reflected on the trellis.

Scene 3. Food and drink are delivered to the ships by hand and on carts. They also bring weapons - chain mail, helmets, swords and spears. Wine is served in vessels made of animal skins, in barrels, in bags and in a wide variety of other containers.

CROSSING
Scene 1. William leads his army to board the ships and they set off. The author of the tapestry missed many of the events at the beginning of the campaign - the long wait for a fair wind in Dives-Sur-mer, wandering along the coast in search of a convenient pier in Saint-Valery-sur-Somme ). Only the direct crossing of the English Channel is shown - the creator shows the beginning of Normandy's march to victory.

But even better on the tapestry are the boats of the Normans - decorated with carved dragon heads, they rush forward, driven by a fair wind. Multi-colored sails and shields are clearly visible, inserted into the holes for the oars of the ships that carry warriors and, finally, a ship with horses on board.

Scene 2. There are many ships on the sea, the ships are full of soldiers and horses. William sails on Mora's ship, a gift from his wife Matilda. His ship is easy to distinguish from others - a small man blows a trumpet, a flag with a cross is visible above the mast - without a doubt, this is the “Standard of St. Peter”, awarded by Pope Alexander II who blessed the Duke for his enterprise.

BEACHHEAD
Scene 1. On September 28, William's army landed on the English coast, at Pevense, now this place is located a few miles from the sea. The ships are pulled out and dried high on the shore. The warriors gallop towards Hastings and stock up on provisions, taking the cattle from the farmers.

Scene 2. September 29, 1066, the operation begins. The necessary provisions are obtained on the shore and an unprecedented feast is prepared in the open air - chickens on skewers, meat is stewed over an open fire, dishes are taken out of the oven. Here you can appreciate how food was prepared at that time.

Bishop Odo of Bayeux blesses the food and wine. On the right is William seated at the table, feasting with his two half-brothers, seated with dignity on either side of the Duke. Servants load food onto shields and bring it to the banquet. Wadard, Odo's close associate, is depicted on the left at the table.

Scene 3. Duke William enters into an argument with his half-brothers Bishop Odo and Robert, Count of Mortain.

To strengthen the Norman base, a motte was erected in Hastings - a castle-like building. A messenger brings news of the arrival of Harold and his troops. Wilhelm clears the battlefield - he orders several houses to be burned. On the right, a woman and child are fleeing a burning house.

WILHELM RIDES TO WAR
Scene 1. The morning of the battle is depicted, October 14, 1066. William leaves Hastings and, fully equipped, is about to jump on his horse. William's Norman cavalry gallops towards Harold's English army. The meeting took place about 8 miles from the present shore where an abbey was later built.

Scene 2. Here William is depicted twice: first on a dark horse at the head of his army. Then, immediately to the right, he asks one of Odo's close associates, Vital, if he has already noticed the enemy army.

Scene 3: The English side is now shown. The guard warns Harold that the Norman army is approaching. And again the Normans are shown: William, with a mace in his hand, makes a speech to encourage his warriors, he calls on them to be brave and courageous.

BATTLE OF HASTINGS
Scene 1: The Normans attack and the Battle of Hastings begins. The fast march of the French cavalry is protected by foot archers

Scene 2. The air is filled with arrows and lances, the warriors fall dead. The English side is on foot, the soldiers are armed with battle axes and pikes, they protect themselves with a wall of shields. The Normans are advancing on both sides. The lower register of the carpet is filled with paintings of the bodies of dead and wounded soldiers.

Scene 3: The violence continues as people hack and stab each other to death. Both of Harold's brothers died in this battle.

Scene 4. The battle is shown in full swing: people and horses fall dead to the ground, the bottom row is littered with dead warriors and horses.

Bishop Odo appears with a mace in his hand, waving his weapon and encouraging his followers. Please note that the clergyman does not have a sword, but a mace; his rank prohibits the shedding of human blood.

Scene 5. Wilhelm fell from his horse. But to show that he was alive, the Duke raised the visor of his helmet and revealed his face. His soldiers must see this, he encourages the soldiers to continue the battle. Count Eustace carries a decorated banner, quite possibly the same banner that the Pope presented to William as a sign of support for his intention to invade England.

Scene 6. The Normans seem to have the upper hand in the battle, but it is still ongoing. Many soldiers were killed, one had his head cut off. On the right is the most famous scene: the Normans killing King Harold. But how was he actually killed? It seems that he was depicted twice in this scene: first he pulls an arrow from his eye, the second time he is defeated by a Norman knight. This part of the carpet is very difficult to decipher, but researchers agree that the scene of Harold's death is shown.

Scene 7. The battle ends with the death of the king. The victors pursue the surviving Anglo-Saxons.

The final scene of the carpet has not survived. Did it depict the ceremony of William the Conqueror's coronation as King of England at Wenstminster? It is hardly possible to answer this, but this scene fit perfectly with the beginning of the story - the coronation of King Edward the Confessor, who established himself on the throne just two years before the events described.

The final scenes of the tapestry were restored in the 19th century and very crudely.

• GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY

The Bayeux Carpet is not only an amazing work of art, it is also an invaluable historical document. Historians find many important details in it. Even after two centuries of research, the meaning of many elements is not clear and scientists still have to work hard to decipher their true meaning.

Any textbook on the history of the Middle Ages must have illustrations of some part of the Bayeux carpet. There are even more of them in English, American, and Scandinavian books than in French ones. The famous tapestry attracts not hundreds, but thousands of tourists every year, many books and countless articles have been written about it, but it has never been fully studied.

The tapestry was discussed in relatively recent sources. It was first mentioned in 1476 among the treasures of Bayeux Cathedral and until the beginning of the 18th century nothing was known about it. Therefore, the exact date of its manufacture is highly controversial. It was most likely woven shortly after William of Normandy conquered England in 1066. The trellis may have appeared between 1070 and 1080. There is reason to believe that the tapestry was embroidered for the ceremonial illumination of the newly built cathedral in Bayeux.

It is certain that the work was carried out by English craftsmen, possibly from the County of Kent. Now no one can say whether women or men were engaged in embroidery. But there is no doubt that these people had a connection with the Canteberry temples. There is every reason to believe that the work was commissioned and paid for by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, half-brother of William the Conqueror, when he was first Earl of Kent. In the Middle Ages and until the French Revolution, the carpet was regularly hung in the cathedral in early July, to commemorate the events that it depicts.

During the Revolution, the city fathers managed to preserve the priceless trellis. By decree of Napoleon it was declared a national treasure and Bayeux was obliged to preserve and care for it. In the 19th century, the tapestry was restored several times. In 1982, careful research determined that the last few scenes of the carpet had been lost. Since 1983, it has been exhibited in the building of the former main diocesan seminary. The inspection of the tapestry is organized very competently - tourists are given audio guides to different languages, including in Russian. The Russian text is beautifully composed - the announcer narrates the events in a lively and interesting manner, paying attention to the details, which are numbered. Tourists move in the same direction without interfering with each other. Photography and video shooting are prohibited, so no one stands in front of you with a camera and does not interfere with your study of the carpet.

• TECHNICAL ASPECT OF THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY

Let us emphasize once again that although this work is called a tapestry, it was not made by weavers, but by embroiderers. The carpet consists of eight wide linen strips of unequal length. The scenes are embroidered with wool threads. The length of the carpet is about 70 meters, the width is about 50 cm. Later, the entire work was sewn onto another linen fabric, of a coarser quality. This made it possible to number all the scenes, which was almost certainly done in the 18th century.

All scenes are embroidered with eight different colors of yarn. They protrude quite high above the biscuit-colored background. The contours of the figures are emphasized with a stem stitch; they contrast with the smooth areas of the satin stitch. Despite the fact that the tapestry is over 900 years old, the threads have retained their original color! Only a few threads were pulled from the tapestry, maybe in the Middle Ages, maybe later, but the seams and stitches are visible so clearly that you can trace the entire technique of work. The only scenes that have suffered the most from time are the scenes after Harold's death. They cannot be restored. And the scenes of the retreat of the British troops are considered a rather crude fake. No one can now say what was depicted in the final paintings, but it is absolutely clear that not much was lost.

Along almost its entire length, the tapestry is divided from top to bottom into three segments: the upper and lower parts are separated from the main central composition by an almost continuous line. They depict figures who are not related to the main narrative. It is still a mystery why they were placed on the carpet. It depicts mainly fantastic animals that are mentioned in Romanesque art (lions with raised tails, griffins, etc.), foliage ornament, various curls. In the first half of the carpet, the lower strip is occupied by living scenes, partly taken from the plots of ancient legends, but most often without any specific meaning.

Do these images have any parallels with the main action? To this day this has not been determined. As scenes in the main narrative become more intense, figures in the top and bottom stripes add to the story, especially noticeable in the second part of the story: archers surrounding the cavalry, scattered bodies of the dead, marauders stripping the dead of weapons and ammunition. At the top of the central stripe there is a commentary in Latin. The narrative is embroidered in capital letters, and some of the main characters are named. This brief description events is of no literary interest, but is one of the main sources of the history of the conquest and the events preceding it. The spelling of names and titles - for example, King Edward, the mystical Aelfgyva, the cities of Bayeux, Pevensey and Hastings, and finally the names of Harold's brothers, prove that the text was composed by an Englishman.

The sequence of events is shown quite in modern ways– the action develops from one scene to another. The movement is conveyed by several images of almost identical figures - when the cavalry gallops or attacks, when the fleet crosses the English Channel. Throughout the entire tapestry there is not a single image of a landscape in the background, with the only exception being Mount Saint-Michel. But contrasting colors, for example between the horses' legs, emphasize the idea of ​​perspective.

• AUTHORS OF THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY

From the point of view of the authorship of the tapestry, three or even four levels of performers should be named.
1. The person who commissioned this work was probably Bishop Odo of Bayeux or Edo Conteville (1045-1096), half-brother of William the Conqueror. On the trellis itself he is shown at least three times: blessing food, when the Normans landed on the English coast, when the French were building a camp and, in last time, during the climax of the battle. It is likely that he was also depicted, although not named, in the scene where William receives news of Harold's coronation. It is known that Odo was very strong personality, had a sharp mind, appreciated art. He was more attracted to politics than to serving the church.
2. The author of the tapestry drawings was without a shadow of a doubt an Englishman. He was familiar with early works in the same technique, as well as with ancient manuscripts from the early 11th century, kept in Canterbury. Different approaches to depicting these events gave him complete freedom and he did not fail to take advantage of them.
3. Whether the author of the drawings was also the author of the text is unknown, but almost certainly he was also an Englishman. This man clearly received an excellent education. Some of his figurative expressions are amazing and have a literary aspect to them, such as William the Conqueror's speech during battle.
4.And, finally, the embroiderers or embroiderers who completed the work. They spent long months doing the meticulous work entrusted to them. The artel of ancient needle masters worked so harmoniously that it is impossible to distinguish between sections made by different hands; it seems that the figures were embroidered by one person, which is impossible to even imagine.

It should be added that in the 18th century a legend appeared about the involvement of William the Conqueror’s wife, Queen Matilda, in the creation of the trellis. The legend has no basis; Queen Matilda has nothing to do with the outstanding work of ancient masters.

• THE THEME OF THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY

At first glance, the main theme of the tapestry was the Battle of Hastings and the death of the English king Harold. This plot was named the main one at the end of the 15th century, when the tapestry was discovered. But such a scene is absolutely unacceptable for a temple and it would never be stored or displayed in the cathedral! And if the main plot of the composition really were the victory of the Normans, then why start the story from 1064?

In fact, the main idea of ​​the story has a deep religious meaning - this is the punishment for perjury, for the fact that a person did not keep his word given on holy relics and the inevitable punishment of the perpetrator for deception, shown in the sequence of events.

That is why it was imperative to show the oath taken by Harold on the holy relics. The narrative ends with the death of the perjurer; the punishment shows the power of the Almighty. Consequently, the moral aspect of the image prevails over the military and political. All the necessary scenes that help to understand the reasons for the invasion and the details of the battle itself are left without attention. We see no reason why William has the right to claim the English throne, nor the intrigues of Harold's younger brother Tostig, nor the coronation at Wenstminster on December 25, 1066. All this is known from other sources and is not reflected in any of the scenes in the tapestry.

But there is no reason to say that the tapestry does not glorify the victory of the Normans at Hastings and their leaders - William the Conqueror himself and his half-brothers - Bishop Odo and Count Robert. But at the same time, this is done in a surprisingly restrained manner: neither in the text nor in the illustrations, the British are not humiliated by a single word or a single action. The blame for the Lord's punishment lies entirely with Harold and this in no way reflects on them human qualities, no more than the expectation of military valor in battle, which is placed on the same level with the courage of the Normans. “Here the English and French die together in battle,” says scene 53 of the tapestry. It is surprising that the winners are called “French”, and not “Normans”, as they always said north of the English Channel, and not “Normans”, as all the authors of the duchy wrote.

• THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY AS A HISTORICAL DOCUMENT

The unprecedented wealth is expressed, first of all, by many scenes - 626 figures, 202 horses, 41 ships, 37 buildings, and other details can be counted. There is also an amazing amount of detail in all aspects of life in the 11th century - weapons, clothing, horse harness, ship building, scenes of hunting and cooking. It’s impossible to even list all the details; let’s focus on the most important ones.

First of all, in most cases, the artistic ideas of the carpet are taken from the point of view of the English side of the English Channel, where its creator worked. With the exception of some scenes, the author was not interested in the difference between the English and the Normans. On the battlefield, the warriors of both sides wear the same chain mail (with trousers, very comfortable for the English infantry and completely useless for the Norman cavalry), have the same helmets on their heads, and they fight with the same swords and spears. At sea, English and Norman ships are indistinguishable. However, at least in the early scenes, the English are shown with long hair and mustaches, while the Normans are shaved, their hair cut to neck level. In battle, the Normans are mainly archers, and Harold's Anglo-Danish guards are armed with the famous Viking battle axes.

It should be noted that the author, most likely, was an eyewitness to what was happening. Professional cavalrymen and horse breeders, in any case, accept him as one of their own: he was a horse lover and did not ignore any possible movement of the horse. Also, the creator of the trellis had such a good understanding of ships and navigation, which has not yet been observed since the times of the ancient Greeks. He also knew a lot about reliquaries in which holy relics were kept: one of them is shown in the scene of Harold's oath, this reliquary surprisingly resembles the only Scandinavian relic of that time. In addition, the author of the tapestry is familiar with knightly traditions and the royal burial ceremony. From this we conclude that he was a man of wide interests and had an undoubted talent for conveying in a few strokes (the possibilities of embroidery are limited) the essence of the plot that he showed so vividly.

Many scenes in the tapestry, even those not directly related to the action, have been studied very carefully. Harold sets sail for Ponthieu after visiting the church in Bosham. This temple is depicted with a high and narrow arch.

This is the exact form of the arches of Saxon churches, such arches still separate the nave and choir of temples. Harold leaves the ship with a hawk on his arm - from 12th century sources it is known that he owned a book on the habits and breeding of hawks. During the siege of Dol, a fugitive rappels down from a watchtower.

The same method was described by the chronicler Orbderic Vital shortly after the siege of Antioch. Upon the surrender of Dinan, Duke Conan gives the keys to the city to the Normans; they seem huge.

Danish archaeologists have discovered similar keys. Here and there, buildings with arched roofs and buildings that look like an inverted hull of a ship appear - the existence of such houses is confirmed by the finds of Norwegian and English archaeologists.

Did the author convey events with chronological accuracy? I would like to ask him for clarification regarding the obvious fact - King Edward the Confessor is first shown on his deathbed, and in the next scene he is shown giving instructions to those close to him. Here the author used inversion, why is not known. However, temporal relationships are conveyed with different intensity: in some scenes time moves slowly, the action is shown in detail, in others, on the contrary, the creator jumps from one temporal event to another very quickly, for example, what happened in 1065 is not shown at all. Many modern researchers have declared the tapestry's author guilty of blatant violation of the sequence of events. But more thorough research showed that they were wrong.

• BAYEUX TAPESTRY AND MILITARY HISTORY

Only a few documents have survived to this day that present such vivid pictures of such a large-scale military operation, including weapons and combat tactics.

The carpet shows three types of ammunition: chain mail, helmets and shields. About two hundred horsemen, both English and Norman, are dressed in identical mail. They protect the body, arms up to the elbows or a little lower, the legs are covered by something like chain mail trousers (although, in fact, the riders were unlikely to wear such trousers). A removable plate is very often shown on the chest. During battle, warriors wear a so-called “chain mail cap” - a mesh that protects the neck. In a time when every ring and every joint was forged by hand, you can imagine how much a complete weapon would cost.

All helmets were conical with a plate protecting the nose, but there was no neck protection on the helmet. Most shields are oval or almond-shaped with the point down. The shields, most likely wooden, are covered with leather. The shields have different colors. Those that belong to commanders have distinctive insignia. Several English infantrymen are depicted with round shields.

The weapon on the tapestry shows a sword - long and double-edged; pike, it is placed under the arm and thus the rider can use it in a frontal attack (one of the earliest mentions of such a use of the pike in the Bayeux Tapestry) or when the arm is raised like a javelin; a Viking battle ax is also depicted, with Harold's bodyguards swinging it with both hands.

Archers are armed with fairly short bows and this is their only weapon. The quiver is attached either to the shoulder or to the belt. Several members of the nobility are shown with clubs or maces, such as Bishop Odo of Bayeux, as mentioned above, a cleric cannot shed blood, and Duke William.

The horse harness is also of interest. The horses are wearing heavy saddles, the rider sits firmly and securely in them, the body is fixed both in front and behind: stirrups descend from the saddle, they were a new invention of the West. In this position, the rider could withstand the blow of the enemy's pike without running too much risk of being knocked over from the saddle. In those days everyone wore spurs.

The English usually fought on foot, even if Harold himself was mounted. Main blow The Normans attacked with heavy cavalry. But the tactics of the beginning of the battle can hardly be called Scandinavian: a detachment of archers came out first, which retreated back immediately after the main forces entered. In battle, commanders can be recognized by their standard, which is held by the retinue surrounding him. Undoubtedly, William's banner bears the image of a cross because he received the blessing of the Pope. Harold's standard features a dragon-like beast, probably carved from a sheet of bronze, similar to those found in Norway and used as weather vanes on church roofs.

It is worth noting that the tapestry also serves as the main source of the history of fortifications of some regions and cities: Brittany, Bayeux and Hastings. Castles are built of wood and sit on mounds: they are fundamental to the Normans in the 11th century, but are unlikely to have existed in England in the time of Edward the Confessor.

• THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY AND THE HISTORY OF THE FLEET

From this point of view, the tapestry was studied most carefully. Without this, many aspects of the design and use of naves (esnèques) would remain unknown. Esnèque - (from the Scandinavian snekkja) - in the 11th - 12th centuries in Normandy, this was the name for the longships on which the Vikings sailed. Until now, archaeologists have not discovered a single beast like the dragon adorning the bows of these ships. And although many sources mention such decorations, they can only be seen on the Bayeux Tapestry. Similarly, illustrations of sails and other equipment of ships are found only in vague images on columns in the Swedish islands of Gotland and date back to the 8th-9th centuries.

All ships in the tapestry are of the same Scandinavian type, with the exception of some variations. They come from the same type of Viking ships found in royal burials in Norway or found during archaeological excavations in the Danish fjords. This type of ship dominated throughout northern Europe from the 8th to the 12th centuries. They were adapted for military needs, or for transporting people and goods. They were made from wood, the boards were fitted not end-to-end, but with an overlap, the keel was empty. The ships were distinguished by a rather low bulwark with holes for oars; the last oars could be removed. Such boats had neither a deck nor a hold. Their draft was quite shallow, such ships did not need a harbor: the crew simply dragged the ship to the shore, and the mast was removed. The ships were quite large and moved using sails. There was one sail, more triangular in shape than rectangular, and was attached to the central mast at the bottom. These boats could also be propelled by rowers, but there are no rowing scenes on the tapestry.

These ships were quite reliable and served for a long time; they were distinguished by maneuverability, but were extremely inconvenient. The Bayeux Tapestry does not answer the question of how many people such a ship could accommodate, but Scandinavian sources say that 30-40 people could sit on an ordinary ship. Therefore, one can imagine that in the campaign of 1066 the entire fleet consisted of several hundred ships.

The horses were apparently loaded on wide gangways made of logs, this can be seen on the tapestry; this technology was already known to the Vikings. It was improved in Normandy during the campaign against Sicily in 1060 and became one of the decisive reasons for the success of William the Conqueror.

In conclusion, we attach a video recording of the tapestry animation. Some scenes from the tapestry are missing, but the video gives an excellent idea of ​​the events depicted on the tapestry.

Usually the museum is open daily, but sometimes it gets closed for restoration.
In 2014 it is closed from January 6 to January 31. It is also closed from December 24 to 26, 2014.
Every year the museum closes at 12:30 on December 31st and opens at 2:00 pm on January 2nd.
On other days it is open:
From March 15 to November 15 - 9 to 17.45, from May to August - until 18.15.

From November 16 to March 14, the museum is open from 9.30 to 11.45 and from 14.00 to 17.15.
Link to the museum's opening hours page.

The authors of the article traveled around France by car and set their destination in the navigator - the center of the city of Bayeux. Address: Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux Center Guillaume le Conquérant 13 bis rue Nesmond.
Attached is a link to the Google map of the museum.

On our website you can get acquainted with another extraordinary work of weaving - the Apocalypse Carpet

Reflections during the tour

The year 2009 has passed. There were many tapestry exhibitions. Let's sum it up?
The article was published in the magazine “Deco” No. 1 for 2010.
Here I present it in the author’s edition and add photographs from exhibitions.
Some of the work can be viewed on the blog using the links provided in the text.

For many years in Moscow there was almost no place to see tapestries or ancient tapestries. No, not curtain fabrics or industrial copies of famous tapestries, but real designer wall hangings, narrative or decorative, woven on a handloom.
For example, such as this beautiful trellis "Multiplying the Loaves"(1730–1735 Brussels) from the Tsaritsyno Museum.

Due to lack of information, rare appearances of tapestries at exhibitions of the Moscow Union of Artists went unnoticed even by those who remembered and still loved this art.

The reasons were not only that the fashion for tapestry passed and the peak of the artists’ passion for weaving. Creating a tapestry is a long process. It is difficult to do without knowing whether there is a wall on which to hang the tapestry.
A newborn carpet has three paths in life. It will appear at the exhibition first, perhaps even astonishing viewers. And then it will disappear. Where?
It’s an honorable fate to be included in the museum’s storerooms; it’s wonderful to be on permanent display. Good luck in a private interior, but the best thing for a tapestry is to decorate a public interior.
During perestroika, the practice of orders from official bodies and organizations and the execution of tapestries by weavers stopped. Having found the coveted freedom, the creators were at a loss. Those who continued to work faced the problem of implementation. Only a few did not change their business under such conditions.
Tapestry, as a luxury item, has always been available to few. Wealthy people nowadays make do with not so expensive industrial and Chinese copies of European tapestries or purchase antique tapestries. Rare customers do not require serious themes and plots for interior decoration. Understanding the value of the unique, original work of contemporary artists is apparently still a long way off.

But the situation is changing. Exhibitions of applied art and tapestries presented at them in lately is getting bigger.

In November 2008, perfectly preserved four Flemish tapestries from the first third of the 18th century from the collection of the Counts of Ledeburg appeared at the Tsaritsyno Museum. They were purchased by the Moscow Government in Spain specifically for the museum.

The tapestries are part of the “Life of Christ” series: “The Trial of Christ in the Wilderness”, “The Miraculous Catch”, “The Multiplication of the Loaves”, “Christ and the Samaritan Woman” and are distinguished by a high artistic level. They were created in 1730–1735 in the Brussels workshop of Jean Baptiste Vermilion from cardboards by Flemish artists Maximilian de Haze (1710–1781) and Aurel-Augustin Coppens (1668–1740).
De Haze is a Brussels painter who created several tapestries on biblical themes; Coppens is a landscape painter who worked with the largest tapestry workshops.
Weaving density – 8 warp threads per 1 cm.

Trellis "The Trial of Christ in the Wilderness." GMZ "Tsaritsyno".

Multi-figure plot compositions woven from wool and silk are framed by a woven border in the style of that time, brilliantly imitating a carved and gilded wooden frame.

Trellis "Wonderful catch." Fragment.



Later, the museum acquired two landscape trellises – verdures:
"Nymphs in the Park"(c. 1700)



And "Landscape with a river, a fountain, a parrot and a dog"(late 17th – early 18th centuries).
Entire trellis - see below. So far snippet:



Despite the lower density of weaving, their skillful design is not inferior to tapestries with biblical scenes. Time has treated the woven paintings with care, although in some places the colored threads have lost their brightness, and green over the past centuries it has turned bluish. We often see this effect on antique trellises. This is the result of the fact that in Europe, turmeric and other unstable yellow dyes were often used to obtain green color after the first indigo dyeing.

The reverent attitude of museum workers towards the tapestries, the love with which the exhibition was created is undeniable. But, unfortunately, the ancient trellises are not placed in the interior in a “natural way”, but hang on “pylons”, painted, moreover, in the color of the caretakers’ costumes (or vice versa?).

Left: trellis "Wonderful catch"; right: "Christ and the Samaritan Woman."



I would like to hope that the ancient tapestries will find their real place in the interior of the palace. So far, the only example of a historically accurate arrangement of tapestries in the interior (18th century) in Moscow is the Kuskovo museum-estate. This solution gives the visitor more food for the eyes, mind and heart.

For the 25th anniversary of the Tsaritsyno Museum in the spring of 2009, the exhibition of tapestries was continued under the general title “The art of the tapestry: two glorious eras - Western European tapestry of the late 17th - first third of the 18th century - Soviet tapestry of the second half of the 20th century.”
The exhibition will include the works of two contemporary artists as a link between the ancient tapestry and the tapestry of the Soviet period.

From right to left: trellis "Landscape with a river, a fountain, a parrot and a dog." Southern Netherlands. Brussels (?), Oudenaarde (?). Late XVII - early XVIII centuries Density 5-6 warp threads per 1 cm; Heimrats R.(Riga). "Fragments of memories of the 18th century." 1982; Madekin A.(Moscow). "Marriage in Cana of Galilee." 1989. GMZ “Tsaritsyno” (Photo courtesy of A. Madekin).



Series of fine tapestries Rudolf Heimrats, who stood at the origins of the Latvian tapestry, is dedicated to “memories of the 18th century.” Before us is an image of “surviving” fragments of ancient tapestries.


They are placed on a tetrahedron at the end of the hall with trellises, almost in the path of the visitor, which does not contribute to a harmonious perception of the interior. Andrei Madekin’s tapestry “The Wedding in Cana of Galilee” (1989), which is connected with ancient carpets only by a biblical plot, also loses here.

The exhibition is planned to be permanent, but with the renewal of tapestries from the museum's extensive collection (more than 370 works). Now you can see 60 tapestries here, including a series of mini-tapestry of the finest silk weaving by Irina Kolesnikova, dedicated to the Tsaritsyn Palace.

The collection consisted of works that were acquired by the Ministry of Culture and the Union of Artists of the USSR in the years 1960–1980. They were transferred to the Tsaritsyno Museum when it was founded in 1984. The museum was planned as a future collection of works of decorative and applied art of the peoples of the USSR.

Such an extensive retrospective exhibition gives a fairly complete picture of the heyday of tapestry in our country during the period of passion for this art in many countries of the world.
Here, as in years past at big exhibitions decorative arts, artists from the Baltics, Russia, and the Caucasus are all together again.
Artists from Latvia continue to amaze with bursts of emotions, unbridled color, pomp and luxury of textures, and a variety of techniques and materials:
Edith Wignere."Concert" (1975). Fragment:


Mara Zvirbule."Fertility" (1981):


Fragment.

Estonian Leesi Erm(Tallinn). "Earth" (1982), "Rime II" (1987). Photo of the second work is below on the left.
On the right is part of the tapestry Inga Squeeny(Riga) “Student Summer” (1981).

Fragment.



Riga resident Egil Rosenberg (“Morning” 1978) pleases with the relaxedness of the drawing.
Mina Levitan-Babyanskiene (“Harmony of the Universe” (1987) from Lithuania) amazes with the mystery of the seemingly simple weaves.
Amazes with its exquisite picturesqueness R. Heimrats(Riga) in "Saturday Night" (1980) (steam seems to be rising from the tapestry!).
Fragment:

or unbridled brightness - in “The Festive Dance” (1973–75). Central part of the triptych:



Lithuanians are more restrained in their search for textures.
Bright, passionate works of the Baltic people have always raised the tone at exhibitions, turned them into a festival of weaving and attracted more and more new artists
to create tapestries.

Russian craftsmen rarely succumbed to temptation and worked mainly using the smooth weaving technique. One of the early tapestries on display - Valentina Platonova"Moscow Rus'" (1968). Long (6 m), unevenly woven in places, its rough handwork seems to remind us that the tapestry itself was once born from a simple homespun runner, which was woven by craftswomen on long winter evenings.

The tapestries are striking in size, powerful design and unique blue-red color scheme. Lina Sokolova: diptych "Time" (1986) and
"Eternity" (1988):

Leningrader Boris Migal, one of the few who experimented with textures, weaving techniques and various materials (“Sky of the World” (1989) and “Magistral” (1972). And his tapestries always made us stop and think about seemingly invisible details, talking about a lot of things.

For many years these carpets were kept in “honorable exile” in a dark storage room. And finally, they are ready to please people again. However, the enfilade of small halls, where tapestries sometimes hang on windows covered with shields and on wide partitions in the center, obscuring carpets, does not always allow one to take in the entire tapestry. But in most cases, full perception of a woven image is possible precisely at a distance.
The museum’s desire to display as many works as possible is understandable, but the interiors of the palace have become a cramped storage facility open to the public. The tapestries, designed to decorate the interior, were almost destroyed this time.
The exhibition also lacks its logical conclusion – contemporary works.

But now they can be seen at Moscow exhibitions. Looking around their thinned ranks, the artists discovered that they were engaged in tapestry, not only in Moscow, but also in other places. And even those artists who do not participate in exhibitions do so very successfully, for example,
Lilia Yakina(S.-Ptb.). "The Hunt" (2004). For photos of fragments, see artist's blog .



And a generation of young artists appeared, sometimes still somewhat hectic with the joy of finding the opportunity to express themselves in weaving techniques.

Let's take a look at the Moscow exhibitions of 2009.
The most interesting was the All-Russian Exhibition of the Union of Artists "Russia XI" V Central House Artist (see And ).
More than 50 tapestries were presented, created by young and already famous artists from all over the country.
For many years they have been working in the technique of traditional smooth weaving Sergey Gavin (Moscow) “Restoration Project” (2006) (photo ).
Alexander Gorazdin (Moscow) “Code of Relations” (2008) Andrey Madekin (Moscow) “Jacob at the Source” (2004) and “Flight of Pegasus” (2006), M. Rybalko (Tula) “Life” and “Movement” (2008) (see the two links above to “Russia XI”).

Others delicately and successfully introduce elements of relief into a smooth tapestry: N. Zinchenko (Novosibirsk) “Space of Ice” (2005), E. Odintsova (Naberezhnye Chelny) “Ellipsis” and “Sky” (2008) (see the link to the exhibition) .
V. Goncharov(Voronezh) in the triptych “Awakening” (2005) creates an interesting image in a strict palette, varying matte and shiny threads of different textures. Light emerges from the darkness with dynamic, multidirectional strokes of twill. Only B. Migal worked so masterfully in this technique.
Triptych fragment:

Sometimes an artist is captivated by a difficult task: to convey other types of fine art through weaving. Although what is interesting about tapestry is not the imitation of other techniques, but its own language, in the work O. Popova(Belgorod) “Undergraund” (2005) is done elegantly, freshly and laconicly. The past and future, dreams and reality are blurred with watercolor colored spots and “drawn” from oblivion with a “fine pen” and black “ink”. An additional effect of mossy antiquity is provided by dyed sisal fibers.

Extreme laconicism of color and design creates a capacious image in tapestries N. Fedulova“Running of the Moon” (see link).
and “Scythian tattoos” (2008):



Perhaps the peculiarities of the tapestry are due to the use of a rare, difficult to weave material - horsehair of natural shades. Tapestries have a pleasant fluffy surface.

We were attracted by the humor and freedom of design in the small tapestries of V. Mukhin (Ivanovo) “Night Melody” (2005) and others (see link).

At the exhibition "Dialogue" at the Museum of Arts and Crafts and folk art(cm. ) along with the works of artists, exhibits from the museum’s collection were presented. It was not possible to trace the connection between the modern tapestry and folk tradition at the exhibition. But tapestries of previous years by A. Madekin “The Good News of the Apostle Andrew” (1994), V. Rybalko “Composition”, S. Yurchenko “Emergence” (2006) (see link) adorned the exhibition.

At the exhibition "Artconnect" in the gallery "Belyaevo" (see. ) we saw a number of works that had been exhibited more than once at previous exhibitions. Some of the work did not rise above the initial level.
Tapestries by V. Rybalko “Composition” and “Reflection”, as always, amaze with the sophistication of their design and color (see the link above
And ).

Based on single works presented at general exhibitions, a distorted idea of ​​the artist’s work is sometimes created. Therefore, the most interesting personal exhibitions. An event in the history of Russian tapestry was exhibition by A. Madekin in the Gallery of the Cultural Center "Dom" in November, where thirteen works from different years were presented (see and ). All these years, the artist tirelessly wove tapestries at the behest of his heart, despite the lack of exhibitions, market demand, and the whims of customers.
A wonderful final chord of the entire textile year was the new tapestry by A. Madekin “The Path of the Magi”. (Cm. ).
There are so many exhibitions that, apparently, artists no longer have time to create new works, and they wander from one exhibition to another, turning into a permanent exhibition, which is also good for popularizing the tapestry. But I want something new, fresh and highly artistic.

Continuing the line of a classic tapestry does not mean weaving the same thing as in the old days. Tapestry is an art that allows it to be relevant in essence at any time, even while remaining within the framework of classic smooth weaving.
It will be alive as long as people who know how to perceive beauty are alive, as long as textiles as such are alive. But, of course, this art changes. And why not finally look for new forms of working with textile materials? And what prevents artists from more actively seeking ways to collaborate with architects and return the tapestry to its significance as a monumental art form? Today, when architectural buildings themselves sometimes become unique works of art, they should also receive interesting interior solutions. It seems that this path is more productive than, yearning for past government orders, going into a “chamber” tapestry. Woven products will also create warmth and comfort in interiors with fashionable decorative plasters replacing wallpaper.

In weaving, it is not easy to convey creative fire to the viewer. This requires a lot of work, patience and time. And most importantly - love for your work. An interesting solution is always born organically, in accordance with the thoughts and feelings that motivated the artist. Then our favorite supports in the form of a formal division of the plane into geometric shapes, filling the remaining space with “something.”

Finding your own unique style for an artist means writing your page in the history of art. The secret of any talented work is known - give it your whole soul. And then it will definitely find a response in the viewer’s soul.

And instead of a conclusion, let’s dream of a large retrospective exhibition of Russian tapestry, starting from the first - St. Petersburg tapestries of the 17th century (not excluding works from the 30-50s of the 20th century) to the present day. And you can dream even more broadly – ​​about an international exhibition.

As you know, life is made up of little things. And little things very often decorate our life, make our home cozy and even special, unique. Everything from clothing and women's jewelry to trends in design and art are subject to fashion. It’s hard to say that the fashion for tapestries arose only now, because this type of decorative art has been known since the Middle Ages, although it probably arose earlier. But fashion is changeable and repeated over time in a new quality. So it is with tapestries, definitely, the fashion for them has returned and is gaining momentum.

How to distinguish a genuine valuable tapestry from a machine copy

It’s not often that in people’s apartments you can find an artistic, at the same time decorative, woven product that is used as a wall carpet. But it can serve as a panel, or furniture upholstery, even as a curtain. And it's called a tapestry. Tapestries are a kind of work of art. This is without any pretense or discounts. The best tapestries are worthy of museums and are exhibited there with pleasure.

They come in handmade (truly authentic) and machine copies. Tapestries differ according to the method of production, materials for embroidery, appearance And artistic value. The most expensive gold-woven tapestries. Real tapestries have knots on the reverse side, the free ends of the threads, which are not cut short so that the product retains its strength.

Machine-made tapestries are also valuable for interior design and design experiments. You don’t have to chase authenticity if you’re not a snob, but remember, you can forget about exclusivity. It is likely that you will come across a copy of a tapestry drawing similar to yours in some shabby hotel.

History of tapestry - care for them and examples of use in the interior

Tapestries came to us from France in the 17th century. The first French tapestries reflected historical events, religious, mythological. Then everyday life entered the tapestry. Magnificent tapestries were on household topics, landscapes, portraits, their cost was truly enormous and by the beginning of the 20th century the production of tapestries was discontinued.

Genuine tapestries, even those not embroidered with gold and silver, have museum value and only very wealthy people can afford to have them at home. As a rule, these are small wall panels that look very impressive on the walls. Tapestries require careful handling as they have heavy weight and can tear under their own weight. Tapestries must be carefully, and most importantly, systematically cleaned from dust, ventilated for a long time and reliably dried in the sun.

Machine tapestries are created for mass consumption. They are not of museum value, but still not cheap. They, like their more prestigious counterparts, are very great for decorating an apartment in the form of panels. Furniture covered with tapestry has a very expensive look, lasts much longer than that covered with any other fabric, and such furniture itself is a decoration in the apartment.

Infertility treatment in a sanatorium in the city of Saki.