Handing On: Contact with Tradition in Elsje Janssen's Tapestries in
Belgium
by Christine Laffer
(Pierre Mardaga printer, Sprimont, Belgium, 1996(?), in French, German and
English. ISBN: 2-87009-555-4)
A man cuts a thick slice from a loaf of bread and hands it to his wife.
She smiles slightly in taking it, her head held high. Below her hand, a
strip of white cloth loops across from blue to white, paralleled by another
going from red to black. These images of contact, of connections between
different points, convey the spirit of this book. This is an offering of
text and image which passes along, in the simplest manner possible, the
Belgian tapestry tradition.
Tapestry books continually get published for the general reader, for the
browser who is unfamiliar with previous compediums, perhaps captivated by
the cover. For the first forty pages or so, Janssen proves no exception
to this rule, except that the reproductions excell in quality. A standard
recitation of phrases like "decorative role," and "mobile
frescoes," and anecdotes of history such as "during the French
Revolution tapestries [...] were deliberately set fire to so that the precious
metals could be used again," link her to the 50's conceptualization
of tapestry.
Beyond that gentle beginning, Janssen warms with enthusiasm to her subject.
A color reproduction of the 'Legend of Herkenbald' (Brussels, 1513), gives
us a rare look at a "fascinating pre-Renaissance tapestry" (p.43).
Referred to in other texts (particularly David et Bethsabée
by Francis Salet (1980, Editions de la Réunion des Musés Nationaux,
Paris)) with occasionally a black and white photo, it rightfully receives
attention. Other pieces of stylistic transition during the Northern Renaissance,
such as the 'Story of Jacob' (Brussels, 1528-34, workshop of Willem de Kempeneer)
designed by Bernard van Orley, show that the influence of Italian painting
could not ruin tapestry when its future remained secure in the hands of
masters.
As Janssen notes: "Brussels is still rated as the most important tapestry-making
centre in the seventeenth century. ... [I]t continued to produce very impressive
series and enjoyed its fame into the eighteenth century." (p.57) By
the end of the eighteenth century, however, the workshops throughout Belgium
ceased receiving commissions, and in a few short decades the last surviving
ateliers closed in Brussels.
This does not end the tale, and her segue into the twentieth century echoes
similar stories in other countries. The late 1800's saw a revival of interest
in tapestry as a Medieval art form, and the knowledge which had passed from
Flemish to French hands returned to train weavers in setting up the 'Manufacture
d'Ingelmunster.' From this handing on of a tradition, workshops founded
in 1878 (the 'Manufacture de Tapisserie de Bruxelles') and 1898 (workshop
of Theo De Wit) continued into the 1980's.
The change in methods of education produced the same effect in Belgium that
it had in the U.S. Academies and universities eventually became the main
place where aspiring enthusiasts learned how to weave, and today the technique
continues in the hands of artist-weavers who produce an astonishing range
of contemporary work. Seen for the first time, the tapestries of Edgard
Tytgat, Fernand Allard l'Olivier, Gaspard De Wit, Mary Dambiermont, Liliane
Badin, Marika Szaraz, and many others, deserve far more attention than they
receive in Janssen's choice of historically narrative format.
As she reaches the present time, the author's enthusiasm gets bogged down
in enumerations from which a reader wishing to extract even a drop of sustenance
must turn to the color reproductions. Perhaps that was Janssen's intent,
for no expense was spared to display each piece in color, even if the original
existed in monochrome. Her story in fact has already been told by this point,
and the tradition of tapestry has passed to another generation who successfully
find their ways to nourish it for the future.
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