Flemish and French Tapestries in Hungary

Fülszöveg

'.. .they bound their frames to the crossbeams, separated the threads of the warp with the heddle and, with flying fingers, wove the cross-threads in between, by means of the sharp-tipped shuttles. As these threads were drawn through the warp, a blow from the comb with its notched teeth beat them into place. With their garments tucked up beneath their breasts, out of the way, the goddess and the girl worked with all speed, their hands moving skilfully over the looms (Translation by Mary M. Innes, Penguin, 1955) These lines are quoted from Ovid's famous Metamorphoses; they carry with them hints of beauties beyond the mere products of the art of weaving. Paris, Arras and later Tournai were the main centres of Gothic tapestry weaving. It was during the Renaissance * that subjects based on ancient history and mythology began to appear side by side with the biblical and heraldic themes of the earlier period. Brussels became the centre for the industry in the sixteenth century. There... Tovább

Fülszöveg

'.. .they bound their frames to the crossbeams, separated the threads of the warp with the heddle and, with flying fingers, wove the cross-threads in between, by means of the sharp-tipped shuttles. As these threads were drawn through the warp, a blow from the comb with its notched teeth beat them into place. With their garments tucked up beneath their breasts, out of the way, the goddess and the girl worked with all speed, their hands moving skilfully over the looms (Translation by Mary M. Innes, Penguin, 1955) These lines are quoted from Ovid's famous Metamorphoses; they carry with them hints of beauties beyond the mere products of the art of weaving. Paris, Arras and later Tournai were the main centres of Gothic tapestry weaving. It was during the Renaissance * that subjects based on ancient history and mythology began to appear side by side with the biblical and heraldic themes of the earlier period. Brussels became the centre for the industry in the sixteenth century. There are several excellent examples ofjhese various woven wallhangings in the |. - collection of the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest and in the Christian Museum in Esztergom. This book is concerned with the discussion of these as well as with /others which are in priváté collections. - "Ííand-wovcn tapestries, decorated with floral or heraldic designs or with those based on compositions including figures, «have played an important part in the embellishment of western and, later, central European interiors, including, of course, those of Hungary, since the Romanesque era. The tapestries from these periods had, indeed, their remote roots among the products of their predecessors in the ancient world but, both from the creative and from the technical point of view, the skills and techniques which developed in the countries of western Europe during the Middle Ages can be said to have brought about the birth of a new art form. In this book the opening chapter traces in detail the actual creation of a tapestry, from the originál commissioning by the customer to the finished masterpiece. Vissza