Evening star., 1961-03-05
THE SHAPE OF THINGS
Great and Ancient Art
Of Tapestry Weaving

ers match the shades and
hues of each brushstroke.
Nothing Of the sort had ever
been asked of these Flemish
weavers who had been sue
cesSful for centuries in the
use of yarns dyed in only
those several dozen colors,
hues and shades which a pa
tient craft had found to be
light-fast and fade-proof.
Nevertheless, Raphael's tapes
tries were executed in the
short space of four years.
Hundreds of workers were set
to this single task. The mas
ter weavers and dyerS Of
Brussels devised for this pur-
pose new and untested tech
niques.
A Tapestry Revolution
When the great hangings
arrived in Rome a new tri-
umph added itself to
Raphaels renown just before
his untimely death. Re-
sponse was rapturous on all
sides. For tapestry weaving
a revolution had occurred. In
terms Of craft, it was q disas-
ter.
From here on in tapestries
will be thought Of as paintings
translated into wool and silk.
Under this perspective, rob-
bing the craftsman of his
freedom, his judgment, his
command over quality and
content, the dyer produced
yarns which he knew could
not remain color-fast while
the weaver abdicated much of
his creative role.
Rubens, living close to the
weavers of Flanders, will con-
tinue the tradition started by
Raphael, imposing on them
the exacting demand that
they reproduce every blend
ing color from his brush. AS
a result, few are the RubenS
tapestries today which have
not faded and, worse luck,
faded unevenly. Here and
there an ancient blue, dyed
according to the medieval
tradition, stands up against
the centuries and sings out
boldly. Surrounding it, how
ever, are vast areas Of grey
ing wool. These were once
flesh tones, blended yellows,
spring greens and hundreds
of gradationS which could
not survive, tones which the
medieval dyer and the weaver
for whom he worked,
would have turned down as
shoddy.
Undimmed by Age
But not Rubens, nor yet
the court painters Of France
who, later, were to be given
control over the manufac-
tories set up by royal decree.
For them the purpose Of the
towering tapestry looms could
only be to produce decorative
hangingS from painterly de-
signs. This will be done
solely in painterly terms. AS
might be expected. these
once-luscious tapestries OF
the 18th centuries are, with
few exceptions, but ghosts Of
their first state, while the
medieval "Arras" Of several
centuries earlier are still alive
with bold color, undimmed by
age.
It was poetic justice that,
in our century. it should be q
group of painters who set
themselves the task of reviv-
ing the lost traditions of
medieval tapestry weaving as
craft. People such as Jean
Lurcat, Jean Picart le Doux
and a number Of others have,
in less than 20 years, taught
the weavers Of Aubusson the
old principles Of their craft
which had been forgotten by
generations of their forbears
working in this old French
town.
THE result can now be seen
in museums and galleries
around this country. The new
tapestries, which the design
ers call "murals in WOOL" are
not painterly. This is due to
the insistence of the painter
designer involved. Rather.
woven with woolS carefully
dyed in q bold, brilliant and
carefully limited spectrum,
they join up, by their craft.
with the great traditions Of
the medieval centuries while,
by their design, often whim-
sical and always decorative,
they belong to today.
And tomorrow they will re-
main alive