Epic Apocalyptic visions and Mediaeval delights

The next morning we walked through the winding streets of Angers to the Chateau, an enormous fortress sitting precipitously on an outcrop of rock, its vast proportions dominating the edge of the city and overlooking the river Maine.  Its history dates from the Neolithic period and it has been, in turn, over the centuries, a barracks, a prison and a castle that entertained a dazzling court life. 

The chateau exterior with flower garden planted in the moat

The Apocalypse tapestry measuring 100 metres long by 4.5 metres high was commissioned in 1375 by Louis 1, Duke of Anjou, and was completed in 1382, a scant seven years in the production of a masterpiece. Woven during the 100 years' war between Britain and France it depicts the hellish ravages of plague and famine in exquisite tableaux, the subject matter tamed in its representation by the order of its design and excellence of weaving.

L'Apocalypse in the purpose built space

Designed by court painter Jean Bandol (also referred to as Jean de Bruges) from existing Anglo - French manuscript cycles owned by Charles V, 71 scenes from 7 panels measuring 80 feet long by 20 feet high have survived the centuries. The tapestries, that had performed an important ceremonial role in the Royal courts between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, fell into disrepair, neglected and abandoned from the end of the eighteenth to the middle of the nineteenth until discovered and restored by the Canon of Angers cathedral. In 1954 they were returned to the Chateau to be put on display.   Now exhibited in a purpose built, low lit gallery it is possible for the viewer to focus entirely on the detail of its superb rendering and lose oneself in the wonderful breadth of its scale.

The suite is based on the Apocalypse according to St. John, who wrote the book of Revelations whilst exiled on the Greek island of Patmos in 96 AD, suffering persecution under the Roman Empire. It pictures a "divine" vision that is also a "prophecy", a work intended to 'edify, exhort and console.' Like many tapestries of the middle ages it plays an instructive and didactic role, illustrating the required constancy of God's faithful servants in the battle between good and evil. Here Christ is depicted as the Glorious Lamb, and Satan as the Great Dragon. St. John appears in each scene playing in turn the parts of witness, spectator and participant, his face becoming the emotional register for the unfolding events.

The seven headed beast from The worship of the Dragon

It comprises 67 horizontal scenes, 1.8 m. in height and 2.8 in width, arranged in two rows and grouped in six large sections. Four of them begin with tall, vertical panels, 4.53 m. in width. It is known that Bandol made the cartoons for the first two sections and the start of the third. Interestingly, these initial panels have plain backgrounds, but from the third section they become ornamented with complex motifs of plants, birds, monograms and "quadrilobe lozenges", perhaps testament to the increasingly demonstrable skills of the weavers.

The original strong background colours that alternate red and blue have faded to soft rose and teal but in 1982 the linings were removed to clean the tapestries and another "revelation" took place. It was discovered that the strong yellows had disappeared, the abundant greens had faded to soft blues and the oranges had turned pink. The tapestries were photographed and the images reversed for Front & Back, (Francis Muel, 1996) an excellent picture publication from which I have gleaned much of the information presented here. 

Photographed from the back, The Fourth Trumpet, the Eagle of Woe.

There is much to see in the grounds of the Chateau, the walls of which are flanked by seventeen towers. Expansive gardens, a frescoed chapel that dates from 1410, the royal palace and a parapet walk all add to the atmosphere of this vast, enclosed space that takes you so effortlessly back in time.

15th C. fortified gateway with Pepperbox turrets

View of the bridge and town from the Chateau wall

We found a charming creperie just outside the walls of the chateau to lunch in, appropriately named Creperie du Chateau, with a fixed price main course and dessert crepe served in a cosy atmosphere. The day was quite chilly so we were glad of open fireplaces and warm drinks. 

After a lovely lunch we strolled through a network of tiny, cobbled Mediaeval streets that looked as though they had been unchanged for centuries, delighting in the Tudor style facades and the rough, stone exteriors of the ancient buildings. 

 Mediaeval streets

We crossed the Pont de Verdun and walked the length of the river under an avenue of birches to St. John's Hospital, a collection of 12th C. buildings that displays the work of modern tapestry artist, Jean Lurcat.

 Pont de Verdun

 Avenue along the Quai

The hospital was founded in 1175 by the laity of Angers and later taken over by the clergy. It functioned for 800 years, looking after the needs of the poor and the sick, the great ward housing up to 360 beds. At the front of this remarkable space the original apothecary's dispensary is still on view, displaying a large array of china and porcelain from the renowned French manufactories of the 17th and 18th centuries. The hospital became the city's Antiquities museum in 1865 and remained so until 1967 when Lurcat's Le Chant du Monde found a home there. Acquired from Lurcat's wife after his death in 1966, their placement fulfilled his wish that it be exhibited close to The Apocalypse suite that had inspired him when he viewed it for the first time in 1937.

L' Hopital Saint - Jean

Gardens

Cloister at the rear of the great space

The L'Hopital is set in delightful gardens and the exhibition space opens to a cloister, complete with well. Restored in 1988, it comprises a collection of buildings that also includes a sick ward, a chapel,  storerooms and cellars. In the nave, the pointed Gothic arches soar upwards  supported by delicate columns, providing the perfect volume for Lurcat's magnificent Song of the World (1956 - 1966) series of tapestries inspired by The Apocalypse. To see these suites in such close proximity (both physically and intellectually) to each other is a rare privilege.  

The French workshop practice of Jean Lurcat saw the restoration of the woven mark in its own right, reversing the trend of copying paintings in wool that had started with the Raphael cartoons in 1510.  Drawing on Mediaeval precedents, his designs were tailored to acknowledge the skills and techniques of the weaver. A designer and painter, he became interested in tapestry in the late 1950s and re-invigorated the weaving community at Aubusson in central France by supplying designs to the individual ateliers. He created his mural form by exploiting the texture of the yarn and limiting the colour palette to forty five tones on a flat field, devoid of perspective. Interestingly, even in his recognition of the weaver’s art and his identification of the woven form as separate from a painted work, Lurcat issued detailed instructions to his weavers, especially in terms of dictating colour choices. He produced scaled up cartoons in gouache that were carefully numbered to indicate well defined colour areas. 

The ten tapestries of The Song of the World are incredibly vigorous, colourful renditions of a modern apocalyptic time, complete with atom bomb and its social fallout. The work is described by the museum as - "a manifesto of a committed artist, this set of ten tapestries is an epic vision, poetic, symbolic and humanist of the 20th century." Two distinct themes emerge - threat, destruction and chaos in the first four tapestries named The Great Threat, The Man of Hiroshima, The Mass Grave and The End of Everything. Then renewal, hope and joy in the next six entitled Man in Glory at Peace, Water and Fire, Champagne, The Conquest of Space, Poetry and Ornamentos Sagrados. Lurcat died while the final tapestry was being woven.

The suite of tapestries in the great space

Detail from The Great Threat

The tapestry Biennales in Lausanne initiated by Lurcat in 1962 unleashed the work of many International individual tapestry and textile artists over the next few decades and gave rise to the contemporary movement. Honouring his contribution the Musee Jean Lurcat was set up in the grounds of the L'Hopital, in a building that was a former orphanage, to show contemporary textile art.

On this visit the special exhibition was entitled Sacre Blanc, a tribute to Thomas Gleb, a painter, originally from Poland whose name became synonymous with the New Tapestry movement. He pioneered huge, ropy "white on white" wallhangings in the 60s and 70s, all too familiar manifestations of crude, geometric, textured wall pieces that fashionably swept the textile art world at the time. However, in this exhibition, fifty invited contemporary textile artists had made work in response to the theme of the "colour white and the sacred" through the use of embroidery, ceramics, lace, drawing, photography, painting and weaving in a varied and subtle exploration of the theme that was an extension rather than a commemoration of Gleb's work. 

Angers - Cathedrals and Courtship

A short train trip from the Gare Montparnasse brought us to Angers, the delightful Mediaeval town in the Loire valley. Its castle houses The Apocalypse, one of the wonders of surviving 14th century craftsmanship - the enormous, poetic tapestry illustrating the book of Revelations in seventy panels.

As we came out of the station in search of taxis several young people in very fancy dress greeted us noisily - there was a lot of whooping and cheering and the distinct evidence of flour bomb debris all over the pavement. We made a hasty escape, but the University "rag" would catch up with us later in the day, fortunately in a very benign way!

After settling into the Hotel du Mail, a charming country hotel built in the style of a manor that occupies two sides of a cobbled courtyard, we walked across the lovely old town to the Cathedrale St. Maurice that contains eleven Gothic tapestries, an imposing Romanesque/Gothic landmark at its centre. The west portal is crowned by two tall towers and a smaller central one that sits on a figured base. Inside, the spare, grey stone walls sweep upwards in true pointed arch manifestations of the Gothic style, yet the high altar shines in showy excess. Designed in the Baroque style in 1758, six marble columns support an intricately gilded canopy.

The tapestries form one of the most famous and precious collections in Europe, and were woven between 1376-81 for the cathedral. However, they are not all on regular view. The illustrations were drawn by Jean Bondol, based on an illuminated manuscript, and the weaving was overseen by Nicolas Bataille whose workshop also produced the acclaimed Apocalypse. More overwhelming was the display of stained glass windows crafted between the 12th and 16th C. with some 20th C. replacements made after the second world war. There is a distinctly reverential atmosphere within the vast space, and the amalgam of styles takes nothing away from the quiet serenity within.

The west front with 15th C. twin towers, 70 and 77 m. high

Sculptures of St. Maurice and his companions

Gothic interior with Baroque altar on the right.

The front of the cathedral faces a sweep of shallow cobbled steps that descend to a pretty fountain in an open square. We sat along the rim of water in gentle Autumn afternoon sunlight, enjoying a view of a shaded park and listening to the high hilarity of a few dozen young people cavorting around.

 The steps and fountain

With absolutely no warning, ten handsome young men descended on our sixty something group, kneeling in front of each of us and singing, in unison, a pledge of undying love with great gusto and feigned emotion. At the finish they demanded our telephone numbers!

The serenade

After being courted we ambled slowly back through the main square, stopping at shops that sold interesting handmade toys and embroidery wools, and indulged in generously scooped cones of delicious ice cream. We dined at a tiny Greek cafe that I had visited previously, the owner apologising that he had no staff that evening and that the menu would be limited. He turned out great plates of souvlaki lamb and salad, as authentic as you could wish, served with homely hospitality and a warm smile!

Musee des Arts Decoratifs

Our last day in Paris included a visit to the Musee des Arts Decoratifs that shows the very best of the decorative arts, an overwhelming display of skilled craftsmanship from the very old to the very new. A short stroll from Rue Moliere down the Avenue de L'Opera to the Rue de Rivoli, we were there in no time at all and filled in a happy half hour exploring the glamorous shops in the Carrousel du Louvre, an underground arcade that leads directly to the I. M. Pei glass pyramid that forms the contemporary entrance to the Musee du Louvre.

The Musee des Arts Decoratifs is housed in part of the original palace that flanks the Rue de Rivoli and opens out onto the spacious Tuileries gardens. It is a treasure trove of decorative art encased in 18th century elegance. We made a delightful, leisurely stroll through time in this palace of riches, viewing relief sculpture, paintings, ceramics, wood, ivory and enamel work, glass, furniture and textiles that span centuries of civilisation from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, to the innovations of style and techniques of Art Nouveau and Art Deco, and finally to the funky modern furnishings of the sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties of the twentieth.

The Musee

For tapestry lovers the Mediaeval rooms are particularly rewarding, resplendent with "courting couples" tapestries and the recreation of a Mediaeval bedroom with woven hangings and bedcovers. Dating from the end of the 15th C. most of the furnishings were acquired from the Chateau of Villeneuve - Lembron in the Auvergne. The interior contains a canopy bed, bench, chest and dresser placed contextually around a fireplace with carved wooden mantel. Five pieces of narrative tapestry adorn the walls, woven in Paris in 1420 and illustrating courting themes from The Romance of the Rose. 

 Mediaeval bedroom

Other mediaeval tapestries depict pastoral scenes including wood chopping and grape gathering. Les Vendanges (Gathering the grapes) was woven at the beginning of the 16th C. in Tournai. In a small room that displays panels of inlaid wood and small mediaeval portraits hangs a brilliantly detailed tapestry entitled Le Festin, depicting a feast, possibly in celebration of the return of the Prodigal son. Woven in silk and wool, it dates from 1510 - 1515. Two large "grotesque" tapestries occupy the walls of the salon dedicated to the late Italian Renaissance. They serve a purely decorative function as the rich narratives of the previous works give way to a more ornamental style.

More treats in store include the wealth of Art Nouveau and Art Deco exhibits, including a Caldor rug woven in Aubusson, and a complete recreation of Jeanne Lanvin's Paris apartment.

 The Lanvin apartment

In 1924, The fashion designer Jeanne Lanvin commissioned the decorator, Armand Albert Rateau to redecorate her apartment at 16, rue Barbet de Jouy. His designs were drawn from the eclectic influences of antiquity, the East, and floral motifs, and incorporated the use of rare materials such as marble and bronze as well as beautiful textiles. The bedroom and sitting room are draped with silk in the trademark "Lanvin blue", exquisitely machine embroidered in the designer's workshop in a delicate drop of white palms, roses and marguerites. When the apartment building was demolished in 1965 the beautiful four room suite was relocated to the Musee and presented in an authentic a style as possible.

Art deco stained glass panel celebrating the manufacture of tubular steel that revolutionised furniture design between 1926 and 1931.

Panel detail

One of my favourite rooms in the Musee sports a collection of 1960s chairs, mostly made from moulded plastic, the new material that was all the rage at that time. Accompanying the ultra modern, shaped chaises is a collage of film clips from the 60s and 70s in which each of the chairs that you are encouraged to sit in and watch, "stars" in movies from the era. It is frankly hilarious and totally fascinating, ranging from James Bond to Woody Allen. At the end the credits roll, paying homage to the designers and manufacturers of each "starring" chair!

Julia in a sixties suspended plastic bubble chair

 After lunch at a nearby restaurant we enjoyed the gardens surrounded by the wonderful Maillol nudes that sprout abundantly through the manicured foliage.

 Maillol nudes

View over the gardens from the Musee

At the Musee de la Mode et du Textile that adjoins  the Musee des Arts Decoratifs there was a very comprehensive tribute exhibition to the designer Louis Vuitton that traced his rise from a designer of luggage and handbags to fashion, and his influence on the contemporary designer Marc Jacobs. It was like entering a shimmering grotto that seemed to incorporate mirrors on every surface and throbbed to a loud disco vibe. Quite disconcerting for the viewer and obviously designed as an "experience" for the younger generation.

 Before we left Paris we had a stunning meal at Gallopin in lieu of our inability to book at the aforementioned Le Grand Colbert. Served with great style and elegance in a chandeliered brasserie that gleamed with lights, mirrors and old fashioned charm, we were well satisfied with a menu that comprised all that traditional French cuisine could offer, a very satisfying finish to our Parisian stay. 

A rainy afternoon at the Gobelins

One of my challenges when setting up the itinerary was to try to get an English language tour of the Gobelins Tapestry Workshop. After months of emailing to all web listed email addresses, responses were not forthcoming. So with a resigned air I herded my group by Metro to the very grand entrance, knowing that a long tour in French would probably be a bit wearisome for them.

The Gobelins Tapestry Workshop was set up under royal patronage in 1662, and is the longest running workshop in the world. The Manufacture des Gobelins was founded as a dye works in the mid-15th century by Jean Gobelin. In 1662, Louis XIV purchased the manufactory and there minister Colbert united all the artisans, creating a royal tapestry and furniture works. Charles Le Brun was director and chief designer from 1663 to 1690. The Gobelins was temporarily closed from 1694 to 1697, after which the works specialised in tapestry. I had first visited there in 1979, a few short years after the establishment of the Victorian Tapestry Workshop (now ATW) in 1976 where I was a production weaver. I was amazed to see the working conditions of the Gobelins weavers, still so governed by the past with apprenticeships that lasted seven years, bondage to the workshop with rules prohibiting their own self expression and studios that were dark and depressing.

A rainy visit 

As well as the workshop, the complex houses a vast, two storey exhibition hall with a changing exhibition program. Last year there was an enormous exhibition of Renaissance and Baroque tapestry that included some examples from The Acts of the Apostles which tied in beautifully with our viewing of the Raphael cartoons at the V & A. We were able to spend an hour taking these in as we waited for an official tour. This year we were treated to Classical tapestries designed by Poussin, an opportunity to view close up the incredibly detailed if somewhat turgid interpretations of figures in landscapes. This style is like a large, ornately prepared meal that in the final event proves to be quite indigestible, and one truly needs a strong stomach to be able to assimilate all the fine excesses of the weaver's craft. 

Statue of Colbert with the chapel behind

I voiced my disappointment over not being able to arrange an English language tour to the attentive young man at the desk, and he, in turn, relayed my request to the smart young woman, Diane Marnier, who was assigned to be our guide. He also furnished me with the details of the person to contact about setting up the tour for next year. Diane generously agreed to explain parts in English for us. The tour is very regimented with an embargo on taking photographs in the studios.

Details

Because of the rain, we started in the chapel that I had not seen before. Plain white walls were draped with "contemporary" tapestries dating from the 1950s and 60s. It is interesting how in France these designs are repeatedly woven over the decades even though they look visually dated. Crossing the cobbled courtyard and the small street that used to be a river on which the initial dye works were established, we entered the newer area.

Vasarely carpet photographed last year outside the Savonnerie

A large, new, multi storey building sits behind a grassed area and is surrounded by a pleasant park full of mature conifers. The visit starts on the top level, outside a studio area known as the "Savonnerie", named after an original soap manufactory. Outside, in the foyer, was an example of a rug with tufted insignia woven in shades of deep royal blue. It was explained to us that Government patronage has taken over where Royal patronage left off, and the carpet had been woven for the President to stand on whilst he witnessed a Bastille day parade from an elevated dais. Inside, the studio is flooded with light and pile rugs of enormous size are being made in high warp technique. We could clearly see the weft being woven in and areas being shaved to the right depth with large shears balanced on a ruler. Diane demonstrated the complicated twining of the weft using her fingers. 

On a lower level the tapestry studio is a bit less rewarding as it is furnished with low warp looms that slope away from the viewer, and all that is really visible is the cartoon below the warps and the design that hangs above. Woven painfully slowly from the back of the work it appears a truly backbreaking exercise as the weavers pause constantly to shove a mirror between the warps to see what their weaving looks like from the right side. They boast that their production rate per weaver is one square metre a year, a rate that would have a production weaver anywhere else out of work! Usually the weavers don't engage with the public, but this time we met and spoke to a woman who had been working there for over thirty years. She was fascinated by the information that we weave from the front, a fact that always seems incomprehensible to French weavers. 

A sincere thanks to our guide, Diane

Diane proved to be a godsend, liberally translating her spiel into English and graciously answering all our questions. I will definitely seek her out next year. We left feeling happy and well informed due to her efforts. 

Paris Arcades - stepping back in time

Tuesday in Paris dawned in a misty drizzle  - our only rain of the whole tour.  As our only scheduled appointment was to visit the Gobelins Tapestry manufactory in the afternoon, our group decided on individual adventures to fill in the free morning. I had read an article before I left Australia about the elegant, turn of the 19th century suite of arcades that are once again flowering as shopping and eating places, and the Lonely Planet guide has a very instructive little plan of them outlining the route. Conveniently, several of them are situated close to the Palais Royal and the Rue Moliere where we were staying. So Wilma, Caroline and I set off to explore their many delights.

We walked along the Rue Richelieu to the closest one, the Galerie Vivienne, which I think happens to be the grandest and most interesting of them. Built in 1823, the floors are magnificently mosaiced in Italian tiles, its wide entrance opens onto a generous rotunda and the arcade itself glows warmly    stretching into the distance, lit by glass skylights. There are very upmarket fashion shops with the latest knitted fabrics and colour combinations moulded into up-to-the-minute designs. A feeling of sumptuous elegance surrounds the fashion boutiques like Wolff and Descourtis and Jean Paul Gaultier. Curiosities like a maker of silk flowers and well stocked bookshops are thrown into the mix. We lingered in a beautiful toyshop, Si tu veux, which had lovely handmade wooden toys, cloth dolls and everything else to captivate any child. A gallery showed a strangely anthropomorphic feathered being in its window display.

Mosaic floor of the Galerie Vivienne

Curious exhibit

The Galerie Colbert, around the corner from Vivienne and built in 1826, is extremely grand architecturally with very high walls and a walk that leads to a wide, elegant rotunda. It is not a shopping arcade but houses part of The National Library in its upper reaches. Our bags were searched before we were allowed to enter and our exploration of it led to one of the most delightful coincidences of the tour. 

On our arrival in Paris, Betty, one of the participants, asked me if I knew where the restaurant was located that was used in the film Something's Got to Give starring Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson. "That's a big ask" I responded, "Paris is a very big place!" Well, to my greatest astonishment, as we walked down the street outside the arcade we came face to face with a huge movie poster bearing the images of the actors and the proud announcement that it was, indeed, the Belle Epoque restaurant, Le Grand Colbert, that had hosted the filming of this illustrious company!

We subsequently tried to book twice to have a meal, but of course it was booked out. The maitre d', Francois, was very charming and told us about Le Petit Colbert which is at a little remove at 8, Rue Monsigny.

The rotunda of the Galerie Colbert

The interior of Le Grand Colbert

After our exciting discovery we made our way down the Rue de Petits Champs to the Passage Choiseul that dates from 1824. Smaller, darker and less renovated than the previous arcades, it still offers up a huge array of shops and eateries. There is an excellent art supply shop, Adam and Lavrut, and we were amazed to come across a tiny gallery selling genuine Aboriginal dot paintings!

A further walk in the drizzle down Rue St. Augustin and Rue Vivienne took us to a string of arcades, from Passage des Panoramas, full of philately and restaurants, to Passage Jouffroy. Here there are  tearooms and confiseries filled with delicately crafted and packaged cakes, a shop specialising in comic books - Le Petit Roi - and interior design boutiques that lean towards the baroque and the bizarre. The arcade culminates in The Hotel Chopin built in 1846 and still operating, a glimpse of an elegant past.

Our last destination was the Passage Verdeau for more of the same -  bookshops, print galleries and innumerable places to eat. A morning well spent. On the way back to our hotel along the Rue de Richelieu, I photographed this beautiful fountain dedicated to the nymphs of the Seine in a tiny public garden.