Where is the dividing line between crafts and art? Indeed, does one exist? Readers of Tanya Harrod’s marvellous account of twentieth century crafts in the UK (RR, 99/275) will doubt it; and readers of this superb volume can only leave it knowing that such an artificial barrier cannot exist. It is not just that great contemporary artists designed pictures for the weavers (and a fair number of their cartoons are reproduced here alongside images of the resulting tapestries), but the sheer pictorial quality of the tapestries ranks them alongside contemporary paintings. From the late fifteenth to the end of the eighteenth centuries tapestries were woven in great numbers, and with extraordinary skill, their images and designs echoing (or echoed by) contemporary painting. Their popularity was both widespread and long lived, as works of art with a practical purpose as wall hangings, and sometimes instructive or with propaganda messages too.
Although one of the features of this book is a very detailed bibliography, this is the first complete overview of the history of Flemish tapestry from the fifteenth to late eighteenth centuries. The major chapters cover the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, Baroque, and Brussels tapestries in the eighteenth century. These are then sub‐divided to examine the various production centres and to identify and document workshops, designers, patrons, iconography and use of the tapestries. Topics such as Italian designers, international trade, royal patronage, and the influence of Rubens, are also discussed. The book comprises a narrative text, but it really does have reference value for the collection and collation of all relevant detail, and its discussion in context. As is to be expected with a Thames and Hudson title, this is also a magnificent physical volume (33cm × 24.5cm), lavishly illustrated in colour throughout. This generous page size is ideal to illustrate such large originals, and the 450 illustrations alone could justify purchase as a visual reference source. In addition to the numerous individual illustrations there are also features on a number of tapestries issued in series, both illustrating and discussing each individual image within the series.
The author is Professor of the History of Art at Leuven University and has been Curator of Textiles at the Brussels Royal Museum of Art and History. In addition to the detailed text and illustrations he also provides a reference apparatus of manufacturers and marks, important town marks, and workshops. As well as a very detailed bibliography there is also a comprehensive index.
This magnificent volume at once becomes the standard work on its subject, both for the detail in the text and for the wealth of illustrations. It is unlikely to be superseded for a very long time and so is an essential investment for any reference collection covering decorative arts or the history of art.
