Tapestries, Their Origin, History and Renaissance

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1912. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... so that everyone can see that they now contain red wine. Architectural angles are increased or diminished in order to display the details of vaults and walls and columns. Scenes are represented as if regarded from an arbitrary point of view, and effects that in nature and photography and painting are produced by contrast of light and shade, are in Gothic tapestries produced by contrast of line and pattern and colour (hue). Take the Burgundian Seven Sacraments presented to the Metropolitan Museum by Mr. Morgan and described by me in the Burlington Magazine for December, 1907. This tapestry (See plate no. 47), once consisted of an upper row of seven scenes picturing the Seven Sacraments in their origin, and a lower row of seven scenes picturing the Seven Sacraments as celebrated in the xv century, with captions in Old French between the two rows of scenes. A brick wall with fioriation outside framed the whole tapestry. The scenes were separated laterally by Gothic columns with jewelled capitals and collars. Above and on the left the brick wall is shadowed inside, and high-lighted outside; below it is highlighted inside and shadowed outside, thus representing the light source as above and on the left. But, the wall above and on the left is represented as turned up and to the left, and the inside is jewelled so as to stand boldly out and accentuate the point of view arbitrarily imposed by the designer as from below on the right. Consonant with this, the inside plce no. 313. Joan of Trc Entering Chinon, a German Gothic tapestry in the Orleans Museum. Joan carries a pennant on which appear the Virgin and two angels, the inscription Ihs Maria, and three fleurs-de-lis. The floating scroll bears the inscription in German Cie komt de Jungfrau von Got gesant dem Delphin in...