Tapestry is considered to be a form of textile art. Unlike
painting, the artist works this by hand on a vertical loom. The difference
between this technique and cloth making is the fact that all the warp threads
are hidden from view.
A tapestry is commonly made using cotton or wool. To make it
look more elegant, others use more expensive fabrics like gold, silk or silver.
Before a tapestry is made, a blueprint is first drawn by an artist and then
sown by a craftsman.
The history of tapestries dates back to the Greeks after
archeologists discovered samples in the desert of the Tarim Basin dating back
to the 3rd century BC.
Through the years, this craft spread throughout Europe and
in the 14th century, various designs were created in both Germany and
Switzerland.
One organization that recognized its value was the Church
which used it to illustrate bible stories to its illiterate believers. The
oldest of these happen to be the Apocalypse of St John which consists of six
hangings measuring 18 feet in height and 471 feet in length which took 4 years
to finish.
The Hundred Years War which lasted from 1337 to 1453 forced
weavers to flee from the fighting and settle in the northern France town of
Arras. Here, the weavers specialized in making tapestries out of wool that they
got a lot of orders from all over Europe and displayed in numerous castles and
palaces.
You will only find a handful of these in France because a
vast majority of the art work was destroyed during the French revolution. In
the 16th and 17th century, Belgium became the center of European tapestry
production.
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