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of effort required by the weaving teams. Only 71 of the original 90 scenes survive. The tapestry is dominated by blue, red and ivory coloured threads, supported by orange and green colours, with gilt and silver woven into the wool and silk. These colours are now considerably faded on the front of the
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Although many of the scenes in the story included destruction and death, the account ended with the triumphant success of good, forming an uplifting story. Various versions of the
Apocalypse story, or cycle, were circulating in Europe at the time and Louis chose to use an Anglo-French Gothic style of
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from the royal library as a partial model. The commission was arranged through the Paris merchant
Nicholas Bataille, who in the past was often regarded as the head weaver, but is now thought of as only the middleman and perhaps the financier of the Paris workshop run by Robert Poinçon. It cost 6,000
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It is the most significant, and almost the only, survival from the first decades of the great period of tapestry, when the industry developed large workshops and represented the most effective art form for exhibiting the magnificence of royal patrons, not least because large tapestries were hugely
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Jean Bondol's design follows the Franco-Flemish school of tapestry design, with rich, realist, fluid images placed into a simple, clear structure through the course of the tapestry. As a result, the angels and monsters are depicted with considerable energy and colour, the impact reinforced by the
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The tapestry shows the story of the
Apocalypse from the Book of Revelation by Saint John the Divine. In the 14th century, the Apocalypse was a popular story, focusing on the heroic aspects of the last confrontation between good and evil and featuring battle scenes between angels and beasts.
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expensive. The period began in about 1350, and lasted until at least the 17th century, as tapestry was gradually overtaken in importance by paintings. At this early point relatively few tapestries were made to designs specified by the patron, which seems clearly to have been the case here.
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sheer size of the tapestry, which allows them to be portrayed slightly larger than life-size. Various approaches are taken in the tapestry to interpreting the allegorical language used by St John in his original text; in particular, the tapestry takes an unusual approach to portraying the
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The tapestry was made in six sections, each 78-foot (24 m) wide by 20-foot (6.1 m) high, comprising 90 different scenes. Each scene had a red or blue background, alternating between the sections. They would have taken considerable effort to produce, with between 50 and 84
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During the
Revolution many medieval tapestries were destroyed, both through neglect and through being melted down to recover the gold and silver used in their designs. That did not apply in this case, as the tapestries were in wool only.
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the
Apocalypse Tapestry was looted and cut up into pieces. The pieces of the tapestry were used for various purposes: as floor mats, to protect local orange trees from frost, to shore up holes in buildings, and to insulate horse stables.
336:. The depiction of Death in this tapestry follows the style then becoming popular in England: he is represented as a decaying corpse, rather than the more common 14th century portrayal of Death as a conventional, living person.
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It is uncertain how Louis used the tapestry; it was probably intended to be displayed outside, supported by six wooden structures, possibly arranged so as to position the viewer near to the centre of the display, imitating a
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francs. At this point Paris was still the leading tapestry-weaving centre, and
Bataille supplied Louis with many tapestries from 1363 until the 1380s. The set was probably finally complete by 1380, or 1382.
172:, during which it was dispersed and large parts of it destroyed. Most of the tapestry was recovered and restored in the 19th century and is now on display at the
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considers it "one of the great artistic interpretations of the revelation of Saint John, and one of the masterpieces of French cultural heritage".
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in colourful images, spread over six tapestries that originally totalled 90 scenes, and were about six metres high, and 140 metres long in total.
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Between 1990 and 2000 the castle gallery was itself improved, with additional light and ventilation controls installed to protect the tapestry.
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The neighbouring Château d'Angers had been used as a French military base for many years, but transferred to civilian use after the
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Klein, Peter K. (1992). "Introduction: The
Apocalypse in Medieval Art". In Emmerson, Richard K.; McGinn, Bernard (eds.).
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is almost the only clear survival from these collections, and the most famous tapestry from the 14th century.
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Louis may also have been influenced by a particularly grand tapestry given to
Charles by the magistrates of
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tapestry but were originally similar to the deep and vibrant hues seen on the back of the tapestry panels.
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The surviving fragments were rediscovered in 1848 and preserved, being returned to the cathedral in 1870.
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and then later adapted by
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From the Brink of the
Apocalypse: Confronting Famine, War, Plague and Death in the Later Middle Ages
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It was still unusual for a tapestry to be commissioned by a buyer to a specific design in this way.
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Detail of the tapestry (reverse side), showing an important figure seated under a ceremonial shade
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Their respective inventories reveal they owned several hundred tapestries between them. The
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The Apocalypse Tapestry was commissioned by Louis I, the Duke of Anjou around 1373.
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The tapestry and its theme would have also helped to bolster the status of Louis's
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The Lost Tapestries of the City of Ladies: Christine de Pizan's Renaissance Legacy
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the cycle, partially derived from a manuscript he borrowed from his brother,
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Its survival was helped by being given by a later Duke of Anjou in 1480 to
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The cathedral was not ideal for displaying and preserving the tapestry.
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The fourth horseman: Death - represented as a decaying corpse
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This version of the Apocalypse had first been recorded in
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of Anjou's brother Charles V of France, made designs or
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The main weaving centres were ruled by the French and
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Materials, Methods and Masterpieces of Medieval Art
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772:Tapestry in the Renaissance: Art and Magnificence
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770:Campbell, Thomas P. and Ainsworth, Maryan Wynn,
714:. Berkeley, US: University of California Press.
690:Threading Time: A Cultural History of Threadwork
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961:Great Tapestry of Scotland: People's Panel
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795:. New York, US: Cornell University Press.
282:in 1480 where it remained for many years.
814:. Paris: Centre des monuments nationaux.
735:. Los Angeles, US: J. Paul Getty Museum.
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527:Klein, pp.188-89, 191; Aberth, p. 190.
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16:Tapestry woven in Paris, 1377 to 1382
1015:The Justice of Trajan and Herkinbald
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545:Benton, p.200; Belozerskaya, p. 92.
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1080:Scottish royal tapestry collection
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930:Christ in Glory in the Tetramorph
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792:The Apocalypse in the Middle Ages
434:Campbell and Ainsworth, pp. 14-17
416:Campbell and Ainsworth, pp. 13-15
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1114:Walsall Silver Thread Tapestries
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1120:The World Trade Center Tapestry
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160:Part of the tapestry on display
756:. Santa Barbara, US: Praeger.
732:Luxury Arts of the Renaissance
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946:Devonshire Hunting Tapestries
900:Amnesty-SĂs-Pinton Tapestries
729:Belozerskaya, Marina (2004).
693:. Fort Worth, US: TCU Press.
464:Campbell and Ainsworth, p. 16
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348:The first horseman: Conquest
200:, a Flemish artist who was a
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836:Official Visitor information
641:Benton, p.200; Bausum, p.70.
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1217:William Baumgarten & Co
623:Bausum, p.70; Mesqui, p.48.
278:bequeathed the tapestry to
212:for the weavers to follow.
87:is a large medieval set of
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1412:Raffaello Sanzio (Raphael)
1075:Scottish Diaspora Tapestry
1033:Oseberg tapestry fragments
984:The History of Constantine
956:Great Tapestry of Scotland
708:Bell, Susan Groag (2004).
407:Campbell and Ainsworth, 15
360:The third horseman: Famine
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687:Bausum, Dolores (2001).
68:Musée de la Tapisserie,
1301:Pieter Coecke van Aelst
1009:Jagiellonian tapestries
241:, then involved in the
22:The Apocalypse Tapestry
1397:Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer
1367:Muriel Nezhnie Helfman
1212:Royal Tapestry Factory
940:The Death of Polydorus
915:Bayeux Tapestry tituli
217:illuminated manuscript
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1038:Ă–verhogdal tapestries
990:Holy Grail tapestries
887:Adoration of the Magi
810:Mesqui, Jean (2001).
672:. London: Routledge.
664:Aberth, John (2001).
314:Description and style
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109:Saint John the Divine
42:and Nicholas Bataille
1443:International Gothic
1336:PetronÄ—lÄ— GerlikienÄ—
1275:Margaretha Reichardt
1235:Pieter van Aelst III
1060:Ros Tapestry Project
1022:Lady and the Unicorn
650:Aberth, pp.187, 190.
554:Belozerskaya, p. 92.
1488: /
1372:Else Marie Jakobsen
1103:The Triumph of Fame
1050:Pastrana Tapestries
1044:Pastoral Amusements
996:Hunt of the Unicorn
923:Hunts of Maximilian
894:Apocalypse Tapestry
332:of the Apocalypse,
255:Charles V of France
151:Apocalypse Tapestry
136:John, Duke of Berry
132:Charles V of France
84:Apocalypse Tapestry
1492:47.4700°N 0.5600°W
1207:Pannemaeker family
1085:Sheldon tapestries
1028:New World Tapestry
935:Cloth of St Gereon
243:Hundred Years' War
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134:, Louis of Anjou,
105:Book of Revelation
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1347:Blind Man's Bluff
1250:John Henry Dearle
1109:Valois Tapestries
968:Grödinge tapestry
905:Armada tapestries
384:The eagle of Doom
287:French Revolution
170:French Revolution
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1280:Gunta Stölzl
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1495: /
1458:Needlepoint
1392:Jean Lurçat
1354:The Parasol
1321:John Coburn
1240:Anni Albers
973:Gunthertuch
596:Bell, p.66.
425:Bell, p.64.
285:During the
198:Jean Bondol
178:Jean Mesqui
130:(d. 1362):
40:Jean Bondol
1531:Gothic art
1521:Tapestries
1510:Categories
1480:47°28′12″N
1433:Embroidery
1331:Éva Farkas
1156:Millefleur
879:Tapestries
390:References
220:Apocalypse
120:Burgundian
101:Apocalypse
89:tapestries
1483:0°33′36″W
271:in 1367.
103:from the
50:1377–1382
1202:Mortlake
1187:Gobelins
1182:Brussels
1177:Beauvais
1172:Aubusson
872:Tapestry
234:field.
232:jousting
210:cartoons
206:modellos
65:Location
59:Tapestry
1463:Weaving
1421:Related
1226:Weavers
1165:Studios
184:History
93:Louis I
1516:Angers
1146:Kalaga
1139:Styles
818:
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95:, the
74:Angers
36:Artist
1448:Kilim
1065:Ryijy
334:Death
269:Lille
1151:Kesi
816:ISBN
797:ISBN
776:ISBN
758:ISBN
737:ISBN
716:ISBN
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262:Metz
146:.
138:and
81:The
55:Type
47:Year
107:by
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864:e
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