Color Developments in 17th-Century Flemish and French Tapestry - Research Paper Example

? History and Political Science Topic: Analyse colour developments in the 17th Century Flemish and French tapestry. Flemish Baroque painting is regarded as a form of art that was produced in Southern Netherlands in the 16th to the 17th Century during the Spanish control. Flemish, in this context, mainly includes the regions that were not associated with the modern Flanders. The history of the art of tapestry dates from way back. There are archives that demonstrate their existence in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, England, Russia among many more other countries. There has been an extensive list of tapestries as well as tapestry workers with all the precisions and details that are required with regards to the subjects (Delmarcel, 1999). During the late 16th Century the Flemish painting was very much influenced by the Italian Renaissance. Most of the Flemish painters were influenced by this and thus there emerged the adoption of the Italian baroque in the French baroque in the 17th Century. The Flemish baroque flourished especially through the hands of great painters such as Rubens and Jacob Jordaens. Most of the tapestry which were mainly expressed the same way as paintings took the centre stage in this era. Tapestry is referred to as a type of work that involves coloured threads that are intertwined on lines that are stretched horizontally or vertically to form a substance, a web and also produce a combination of lines as well as tones that are similar to those derived from a painter with his brush. Woven tapestry is regarded as one of the best forms of art expression that is known in the world. In the Middle Ages period tapestries were known to have a utilitarian function (Delmarcel, 1999). The main aim for their development was to be able to protect the medieval rooms against cold weather and damp, to insulate big rooms so that they could be comfortable quarters or to cover the austere walls of the big castles. Tapestry with regards to France is one of those traditions that have made a great contribution towards the beauty of the French heritage. In the 17th Century tapestry in France led to the formation of the Gobelins factory during the reign of King Louis the fourteenth. The factory which was based in Paris employed up to about 800 artisans who were majoring in the production of tapestries meant for the royal courts. Tapestry weaving has been established over the years among various cultures. The ancient Incas and the Egyptians buried the dead using tapestry woven clothing. The civic buildings of the Greeks had their walls covered in tapestry too. However, it is the French based medieval weaver who brought up the craft (Harris, 2005). The medieval weavers were able to extract their dyes from insects and plants within a range of close to twenty colours. For instance red colour originated from madder, pomegranates or poppies and blue was produced by woad. The medieval weaver based their work on sketches that they used from their imagination as well as humour. With regards to the Flemish and French tapestry the focus of this paper is going to analyse the colour development in the 17th Century with focus on Jacob Jordaens, Rubens, Michel Corneille as well as Simon Vouet. It is goes with no doubt that the history of past art was reliant on the use of colour. We are only left to imagine and picture the extraordinary concept that was adapted by the renaissance and mediaeval palaces and churches with the use of the tapestries and wall paintings (Harris, 2005). History of colour in the Flemish and French tapestry among other forms of art is partial due to the fact that a lot of the artwork and the colour in the art has survived or perished but only in a changed form. Colour in art is regarded to as an element of art which is produced when there is presence of a light striking on an object and then it is reflected back to the eyes. There are three aspects of colour that were used to describe the French tapestry which were designed in the 17th Century. These were hue, intensity and the value. In colour development hue in the context of the paintings referred to the name of each of the colour used such as red, blue and yellow. Intensity referred to the vividness and the strength of each of the colours used. With regards to most of the tapestries designed during the 17th Century terms such as dull or royal (vibrant, rich, bright) were used to explain the intensity of each work. The third aspect of the colour in the art is value. The value of each work was explained in terms of how light or dark the piece was (Campbell, 2007). Tapestry was known to be quite expensive due to the fact that they were designed using very expensive raw materials. Thus the reason why they were mostly afforded by only the wealthy in the society especially the Kings. Colour tones were used to depict meaning of the tapestry as well as giving the tapestry a more appealing and attractive concept. It is mainly through the era of the 17th Century that the colour concept of the tapestry was able to develop on a more positive approach. There many tapestry artists who came along with the modern approach of tapestry and thus it was much easier for such artworks to be appreciated regardless of whether they were unfinished or finished sketches (Campbell, 2007). Rubens is regarded as one of the greatest painters with regards to the Flemish art of the 17th Century. Peter Paul Rubens was considered to be a great humanist and artist whose versatility was greatly seen in his remarkable art pieces. Rubens mainly produced oil sketches that were in manageable sizes due to some reasons. He was not only a painter but he also majored in designing tapestries. The tapestries produced were much more expensive than the paintings due to the materials that were used to produce them. Therefore, such artwork could only be afforded by the wealthy. It’s as a result of this that most of the tapestry work was found in palaces and churches. During his era Rubens managed to design four series of the tapestry. These four series of tapestry were the Assumption of the Virgin, the Eucharist, theAdoration of the shepherds and the Resurrection. The fabric of the materials used is a mixture of silk and wool. The colours used have been preserved splendidly due to the fact that the tapestries were safely stored after being used mainly for the liturgy in churches. Ruben used light mainly to create a sharper contrast between the objects and the figures that were in the space. The shadowed faces as well as deep shadows illustrate expressions of life such as joy, pain and death. His four series of tapestry each portrayed different forms of colour combination that differentiated it from each other. His extra ordinary work illustrated that he had passion for the works he did and thus he received more recommendations as a result of his perfections. Colour with regards to his tapestry work took a more vivid approach. That is each of his four series of tapestry was based royal perception. Rubens designs based on his four series of tapestry motivated new ideas in the tapestry industry. His cartoons were painted on oil canvas instead of using the watercolour medium which was the best traditional medium that existed. His designs were conceived in terms of colour, shadow and light that proved quite difficult to be produced on the tapestry materials that is silk and wool.Therefore, most of Ruben’s cartoons produced on oil canvas were mainly used for reference with regards to colour, shadow and light of the artwork. Rubens cartoon oil sketches all had a unique form of colouration. Some of the sketches included only few highlights and dark outlines. The buffer layers that he used in his work made the lime chalk ground of the absorbent thus making the colours to be retained. The paintings of Ruben were mainly done on white grounds owing well to his brilliant and luminous works as depicted from one of his painting on Samson and Delilah which was mainly done after his return back from Italy. The colours from this painting were jewel like which were adapted from Adam Elsheimer. Ruben mostly used dark and light tinted grounds as well as unorthodox pigment mixtures in order to achieve the subtle effects. The cartoons done by Rubens based on his four series of tapestry have dazzling colour themes and very strong contrasts of the light and shade (Auwera, 2007). Among some of Rubens tapestry work involved the death of Decius mus and the battle of veseris. It is well noted that most of the tapestry work done by Rubens had greatly evolved with the touch of luminous colouring attributes. A change came about with the introduction of the oil canvas which replaced most of the tradition watercolour paintings. The four series of tapestry that were produced by Rubens impacted mostly on the colour themes that were depicted from his oil canvas paintings. A lot of transformation has been seen in his works owing to the fact that he was among the first painters of the seventeenth century to adopt a new shade of colouration fill which mostly relied on the shades of light as well as the richness of each colour used. His return back to France saw him come up with very exclusive artwork based on the materials he used. The nature of Rubens tapestry work is quite different from the earlier painters of the 16th Century. His emphasis especially on the borders of his paintings greatly shows of the colour intensity that is depicted by his sketches and drawings. Most of the tapestry pieces were done based on the themes of the story that were being represented. Rubens made his tapestry designs and handed them over to skilled tapestry workers so that they could bring out the concept of each design. Rubens four series of tapestry were mainly based on Religious concept. He depicted a lot from the Bible and thus even his paintings as well as his tapestry work depict a lot of meaning from Religion. The grounds used in his work were mainly illustrated by blue pigment to emphasize on the aspect of each of the paintings. The introduction of the synthetic industry contributed a lot to the use of colour that Rubens used in his work. The synthetic pigment which produced colours such as Prussian blue impacted quite positively on the tapestry produced during this era. Unlike the water coloured paintings which were done using chalk, charcoal and water the synthetic pigment industry opened a variety of colours that could be used to give the paintings more value. Colour aspects with regards to Rubens work were had hue, intensity and value. There were effects of lightness and darkness to elaborate on the intensity of the colour. There was vividness as well as richness in most of his works to illustrate the intensity of the colour used. As shown from the tapestry work of Moses rescued from the Nile, the blue grounds illustrate the colour that took the centre stage of the piece (Lammertse, 2003). Rubens like most of the painters who came up with him in the 17th Century the colour development took centre stage when painters took more emphasis on ensuring that there was balance of the intensity of colours. After Rubens four series of tapestry art there came about more other Flemish painters who gave an insight into more developments in the tapestry industry. The history of colour in the 17th Century mainly began the modern era of paintings. The introduction of the synthetic pigments took place during this period and henceforth most of the painters such as Rubens, Jacob Jordaens, Michel and vouet made use of this technique of colour in their works. The Prussian blue was introduced during this era. Prussian blue became very widely used following the years after its development. The beginning of the pigment industry was greatly marked by the development of the new pigment. Simon Vouet was summoned back to France by Louis the fourteenth in order for him to take part in painting tapestries cartoons with regards to Andre Felibien’s work. He was later on appointed to be the first painter of the king and the court leaders following the years approaching the seventeenth century. His works were mainly focused on Italian paintings which were contemporary as was demonstrated by the poses of the figures in his paintings (Crelly, 1962). Thus he is very much remembered for having introduced the Italian baroque painting style in France. Vouet used vivid colours as well as the novel effects of space and light to idealize the landscapes that appeared in most of his works. The vividness of the colours mainly showed the royal attribute of the colours that were being used in the palaces and churches. Vouet assigned most of his tapestry designs to a group of skilled Flemish and French cartoonist and thus some specialized in landscape, others in figures while the rest focused on the border designs. The efforts of the skilled team were able to yield good design quality and visual richness of the final product (Campbell, 2007). All of Vouet’s work had rich colours that were used to show the emotional feelings illustrated by each of the meditative concept that were exemplified by the Renaissance art. The vibrant colours which were used by most painters during the seventeenth century were based from three dye plants which were weld, woad and madder. Weld produced yellow, woad blue and madder red. In one of his tapestry based on the Old Testament where Moses was rescued from the Nile there is the effect of the blue colour pigment which strikes out to show the ground under which Moses was laid in the river side thus illustrating a deeper meaning to the landscape surrounding the scene in the tapestry. The blue on the clothe of Pharaohs daughter also blends in well the context of the scene. The sumptuous border of the tapestry illustrates a blue ground that is filled with medallions, grotesques with female or male profiles as well as cartouches which are supported by cupids. Cast shadow effects are also quite evident in the borders and they portray a sign of relief. The tapestry of Moses being rescued from the Nile is one among the unfinished works of Vouet. Most of the paintings done by Vouet during the 17th Century are related to his tapestry series of the Old Testament (Crelly, 1962). Vouet like Rubens also focused on bringing out the aspects of colour in his set of tapestry work. The borders of most of his tapestry work were done on yellow ground this was to give out a landmark to indicate where the tapestry had been woven. Like most of the earlier painters that came before him vouet focused more on the intensity of the colour used to illustrate the meaning of his eight piece tapestry work that was based on the Old Testament. The picture depicted from most of his tapestry work demonstrated a lot of growth in his colouring techniques. With regards to Rubens some pieces done by Vouet also used the synthetic pigment and thus there was a variety of colours used to illustrate the theme of the art work. Therefore, there was a lot of emphasis on the use of synthetic pigments due to the fact that clients such as the Kings had preferences with regards to how they wanted their tapestry to look like. It is well noted that there are no tapestries which had identical borders like the ones done for the royals. Each tapestry depicted a concept that was quite different from the other tapestries. For vouet his royal tapestries were based on yellow grounds. The yellow used on this borders were derived from the synthetic pigments and thus the colour combination of most of his tapestries brought a harmonising feel to each of the pieces. It is well noted that most of the tapestry done during this period were based on the saturation of the colours which were placed accordingly to the nature of the theme. The saturated colours were placed in the deepest shadows that were progressively desaturating it in the direction of the light (Campbell & Cleland, 2010). The shadows were advancing while the light was appearing as if it was receding which was the opposite of what was required. The brightness of the pure colours used in the tapestries was quite variable. This led to the to the colour differentiation whereby the brighter draperies like yellow stood out much more from the darker one such as blue. Therefore, based on the developments of colour in tapestry work painters aimed to balance their symmetry by arranging their bright colours in sets around the axis of the paintings. Developments of the colour technique used gained more improvement in the seventeenth century as shown by most artists that gained popularity during this period. Jacob Jordaens work in the 17th Century was based on an eight set tapestry set. This set illustrated the arts attributing to horsemanship that were used to decorate the Viennese court. The Horsemanship tapestries produced by Jordaens were based on designs that had been implemented thirty years earlier. Jordaens had most of his paintings focusing on religion due to the fact that he was familiar with biblical subjects especially as depicted by his move from Catholicism into Protestantism. He drew up most of his inspirations from Rubens who earlier on had employed him to do some of his sketches for him. However, his work is differentiated from most of his peers based on the realism and the composition depicted from each tapestry even in the context of mythological and religious context. His work especially that of the Horsemanship illustrates his love and passion for animal painting (Campbell, 2007). Jordaens mainly used a variety of colours to illustrate and give more meaning to his tapestry. For instance, the Horsemanship tapestries made use of different colouration to explain what the horses were feeling as well as the riders and all the figures that were based in the tapestry. It is clear that most of Jordaens work was centred on schooling of the horses as well as the courts. Jordaens also like his mentor Rubens also used the concept of oil on canvas. Such paintings paved way to some of the tapestry work that were later done by Jordaens. Colour development of Jordaens tapestry compared to Rubens’ was much more appealing and was also based on a variety of colours (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007). Michel Corneille was one amongst the favourite students of Simon Vouet. Corneille produced most of his many paintings for the mansions in Paris and his tapestries artwork were specifically made to be woven. The figure of his tapestry sets measured a number of expressions such as sweetness which radiated from the faces of the figures, gestures, their large opened eyes, their dreamy expressions as well as the s shaped mouths (Campbell, 2007). All of these expressions were greatly blended with a mixture of colours to give more meaning to the tapestry work. Corneille interest in the tapestry works is mostly elaborated more so in the cartoon paintings border creation. There are two types of borders in which the characteristic putti are illustrated. One of the borders simply displays the garlands of the brightly coloured flowers that are against block grounds or light yellow while the other border which has foliated scrolls as well as candelabras simply signal the return of the grotesques tradition. The colour development of tapestry in the 17th Century was based on the use of both the dark and light coloured tinted grounds as well as quality visual effect of the colour combinations. The highly attractive and appealing mixture of colours was to bring out a clear picture of the tapestry work. Colour gave meaning and expressed all the emotions that were meant to be exhibited. It is also noted that most of the tapestry designed in the 17th Century were mainly based on religion. Therefore, the history of the colour in art has greatly developed over the years. It is now that people are able to appreciate the techniques that were used to bring out the designs of the tapestries. Colour development gained a lot of modernism immediately after the beginning of the 17th Century era. References Auwera, Joost . Rubens: A Genius at Work : the Works of Peter Paul Rubens in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium Reconsidered. Tielt: Lannoo, 2007. Print. Campbell, Thomas.(2007). Tapestry in the Baroque. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Crelly, W.r.(1962) The painting of Simon Vouet. New Haven: Yale University Press Campbell, T. P., & Cleland, E. A. H. (2010). Tapestry in the Baroque: New aspects of production and patronage. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Delmarcel, G. (1999). Flemish tapestry: From the 15th to the 18th century. Tielt: Iannoo. Harris, Ann.(2005). Seventeenth Century Art and Architecture.UnitedStates.Print. Lammertse, F. (2003). Peter Paul Rubens: The Life of Achilles. Rotterdam: Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.).,& Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.). (2007). Tapestry in the baroque: [press kit] threads of splendor. New York, N.Y: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Communications Department. Top of Form Bottom of Form Read More