As you walk through the gates of the Château d'Angers, already the atmosphere of a bygone era hits you. There is an exquisite calm within the strong and imposing walls of this castle. Music was wafting from the chapel in the grounds, a rehearsal for the concert that would take place that evening. It was late September, but it felt like a midsummer's day and the coolness of the chapel was a welcome respite from the heat of the midday sun.
We wandered through the gardens, beautifully manicured and then entered the gallery which houses the Tapestries of the Apocalypse. This gallery, redesigned in 1996, with its grey blue walls, provides an apt setting for these magnificent hangings. It provides a quietly dark room where the tapestry panels are highlighted by the strategically arranged indirect lighting. Details of each panel are discreetly displayed and in numeric sequence in order to follow the story unfolding. It is a pictoral rendition of the Gospel according to St. John, transcribing his visions and hallucinations, the battle between good and evil, the struggle between God and the Devil where the whole question of humanity is placed in jeopardy. The story, as depicted in the tapestries, ends with the victory of Christ and his church over the evil temptations of the world.
The works are breathtaking. It's worth remembering too that they were executed at a time where society was just barely emerging from medieval times. The work addresses in filigrane the harshness of the times (1373-1382), war, poverty, famine, and the consequences of same on society. It also by its luminosity offers up an antidote, a faith in Christ and the existence of a better life beyond the terrestrial world.
The tapestries are brilliantly conceived, peppered with a myriad of symbols, angels (messengers of God), animals both real and fantastic, each one having its own significance, musical instruments of the time, people of all stations in life, representative of the era, and the different colours, each with its message: white for purity, red for war, black for misfortune and famine, and the colour 'pale', the classic symbol of Death.
Bible, Revelation 6:8: "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him...."
I walked through the gallery and marvelled at the intricacy of the design, the originality of the techniques since there were several variations on the usual weaving practices creating almost a three-dimensional aspect to what would normally be two. 'Guimpage' (effect of hair), 'battage' ( fine differences in colour), and 'perfilage' ( uneven edge to a shape) being the terms used for such unusual techniques creating their unique effects.
If I was a believer, this magnificent masterpiece of story telling would not just be impressive by its execution, its vibrancy and its compelling narrative, but I would be moved to a state of wonder and continued faith. But even without a real spiritual link to the message, I could not but admit to an overwhelming sense of connection to the work the Tapestries represent, the committment and patience required to complete such an endeavour and the stunning result which, by all measures, is of a great purity.
