tapestry

tapestry. A term that is often loosely applied to any heavy ornamental fabric used as a wall hanging but which more correctly signifies a textile woven on a loom with two directions of thread, running respectively top to bottom (warps) and side to side (wefts). The warps are plain backing threads, and the design is created by weaving the wefts alternately over and under them according to the requirements of colour; the image is thus an integral part of the material rather than something superimposed on it, as in embroidery. Although tapestries are most often used for wall hangings, they have also been employed in other ways, notably as upholstery fabrics. The usual materials for the warps are wool, linen, or hemp, and wool is also the most common material for the wefts, although silks and even silver and gold threads have been used in particularly luxurious examples. The technical fineness of a tapestry is expressed by the number of wefts to the centimetre; an average of ten per centimetre is fairly coarse, while thirty is considered refined (although much denser concentrations are sometimes found). Usually the weaver works from a full-sized coloured cartoon (Raphael, Rubens, and Goya are among the celebrated artists who have produced such designs).

Tapestry was known in the ancient world, but the early history of the subject is obscure. It is not until the 14th century that a continuous tradition can be traced, but from then tapestries were an essential part of medieval interior decoration, particularly in northern Europe (where in addition to their aesthetic purpose they performed the practical function of keeping out draughts). Among the most famous tapestries of the Middle Ages are a vast series on the Apocalypse (designed by Jean Bondol) made in 1373–82 for Louis I, Duke of Anjou (brother of Charles V of France), and now displayed in a special gallery in the castle at Angers, and an enchanting series on the Lady and the Unicorn (c.1490–1500, Mus. du Moyen Age, Paris). France has the richest tradition in the art, with particularly important factories at Arras, Aubusson, Beauvais, and Paris (see Gobelins), but in the 15th and 16th centuries Flanders led the way for a time, with Tournai and then Brussels being major centres of production. Most other European countries have also produced tapestries, the most famous English manufactory being the Mortlake Tapestry Factory (1619–1703), at Mortlake in Surrey, in which Charles I (see Royal Collection) took a close interest; the factory wove several sets of tapestries from Raphael's cartoons of the Acts of the Apostles, which Charles bought in 1623.

Tapestries continued to be popular until well into the 18th century, but they then began to give way to cheaper coverings such as wallpaper. However, there was a revival of interest in the late 19th century, for example in the work of William Morris, and this continued in the 20th century. At the Bauhaus, for example, tapestry design was part of the curriculum, and numerous modern artists have done impressive work in the medium, including Braque, Matisse, Picasso, and Graham Sutherland, whose huge Christ in Glory (1952–62) in Coventry Cathedral, woven at Aubusson, is probably the most famous tapestry of the 20th century.