Château d'Angers - Tapestries of the Apocalypse

 There were many reasons why I might have been drawn to the city of Angers.  It was the first weekend of our holiday, an easy train trip on the TGV after a night flight from Canada, and a propitious choice for these first days where we are fighting sleep and working on adjusting to European time frames.  The city is quite stunning.  Our hotel was situated within a 10 minute walk of the train station and only 15 minutes from the old section of town. 


Once settled in our lovely corner room with the sun streaming through the windows, we head off on a reconnaissance trip, attempting to find our bearings in order to take full advantage of the next day.   Within a short time, we fell upon the castle, its vast moat and the impeccable gardens laid out in typical medieval fashion.  Maybe not by accident, we found the Cave à Vin in very close proximity.  We could anticipate an enriching time the next day once refreshed from our travels since not only would we visit the castle and taste some great wines, we would have the opportunity of seeing the famous Apocalypse tapestries (www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6hQkh5wixA).

The Tapestries of the Apocalypse is a remarkable piece of 'art'.  Commissioned by Louis Ier of Anjou,  coordinated and financed by Nicolas Bataille,  designed by Jean Bondol and executed by the work shops of Robert Poisson, a Parisian weaver, the final work measured 140 metres long by 6 metres high.  The work was done over a period of 5 years between 1373 and 1382.  With the passage of time and inevitable damage through  almost 700 years of its existence, the current dimensions now measure 103 metres by 4.5 metres.  It is a miracle that this work survived some of the most destructive periods of history.


The Château of Angers is a perfect resting place for such a significant work relating with majesty the visions of the St. John the Apostle as written in the last text of the New Testament.  Since 1954,  it hangs in a gallery  especially conceived for the work.

Quimper, Brittany - discoveries

Cathedral St. Corentin, Quimper

We have been travelling, exploring another corner of France, Brittany, which if Philippe and I go far enough back in our family geneology, is a place of our common celtic heritage.  Remarkably, despite a lot of travelling over the years, we had never seen this part of the world.

I was excited to settle in Quimper for the week of exploring.  We had found a simply delightful little apartment right next to the Cathedral St. Corentin, in the centre of town amongst all the old paved walking streets and beautifully asymetric buildings with their lively colours and ancient wood detail.  Within minutes,  we could walk to the market, buy fresh fish and vegetables and in a few more minutes, we could drive out of the courtyard of our temporary home and be wandering the small country roads in search of the next dramatic sea vista.



But the first item on the agenda was to explore the Museum of Fine Arts and specifically to see some examples of the regional embroideries.  Brittany boasts a wide variety of different techniques:  Modes Bigouden,  Vannetaise et Pourlet,  Melenig, Glazig,  and Cornouaillaise, each specific to the detail on costumes of their region, all influenced by the immediate environment of the area, whether it be of the country or the city.  It is a school of embroidery all of its own and I encourage readers to visit the website of 'L'Ecole de Broderie d'Art de Quimper' .  The work of Pascal Jouen is well known and he has promoted the arts for many years through his school.  (www.ecoledebroderie.com)

 The photographs are not particularly good.  I was taking them through the glass of the presentation unit, but they give you an idea of the type of work practiced by the artisans. These two examples were detail of work on sleeves of various costumes on exhibit at the Museum of Fine Art.  To the left,  this work is  done with silver metallic threads and sequins.   To the right, the example shows a detail in satin stitch and chain stitch in the bright colours typical of the 'Mode Glazig'.

As we were about to leave the museum, my eyes fell on the sculpture by a contemporary artist, native of the nearby village of Plouinec, René Quillivic (1879 - 1969).  This piece is a homage to the embroiderers of Brittany.  It is called 'Les Brodeuses'.  It captures the meticulous nature of their work both in the posture of the subject and the detail Quivillic brings to it.   Go to Quimper.  It is a deliciously beautiful and interesting city.