Explore the History of this artwork.
The Apocalypse Tapestry was commissioned by Louis I, the Duke of Anjou around 1373. Jean Bondol, a Flemish artist who was a court artist of Anjou's brother Charles V of France, made designs or modellos for the set; these were probably rather small and later worked up into full-size cartoons for the weavers to follow.Bondol used an illuminated manuscript Apocalypse from the royal library as a partial model.  The commission was arranged through the Paris merchant Nicholas Bataille, who in the past was often regarded as the head weaver, but is now thought of as only the middleman and perhaps the financier of the Paris workshop run by Robert Poinçon. It cost 6,000 francs.  At this point Paris was still the leading tapestry-weaving centre, and Bataille supplied Louis with many tapestries from 1363 until the 1380s. The set was probably finally complete by 1380, or 1382.It was still unusual for a tapestry to be commissioned by a buyer to a specific design in this way.
It is uncertain how Louis used the tapestry; it was probably intended to be displayed outside, supported by six wooden structures, possibly arranged so as to position the viewer near to the centre of the display, imitating a jousting field.The tapestry and its theme would have also helped to bolster the status of Louis's Valois dynasty, then involved in the Hundred Years' War with England.The tapestry shows the story of the Apocalypse from the Book of Revelation by Saint John the Divine. In the 14th century, the Apocalypse was a popular story, focusing on the heroic aspects of the last confrontation between good and evil and featuring battle scenes between angels and beasts.Although many of the scenes in the story included destruction and death, the account ended with the triumphant success of good, forming an uplifting story. Various versions of the Apocalypse story, or cycle, were circulating in Europe at the time and Louis chose to use an Anglo-French Gothic style of the cycle, partially derived from a manuscript he borrowed from his brother, Charles V of France, in 1373.This version of the Apocalypse had first been recorded in Metz and then later adapted by English artists; Charles' manuscript had been produced in England around 1250.Louis may also have been influenced by a particularly grand tapestry given to Charles by the magistrates of Lille in 1367.After a century in the ownership of the dukes of Anjou, René of Anjou bequeathed the tapestry to Angers Cathedral in 1480 where it remained for many years.During the French Revolution the Apocalypse Tapestry was looted and cut up into pieces. The pieces of the tapestry were used for various purposes: as floor mats, to protect local orange trees from frost, to shore up holes in buildings, and to insulate horse stables.During the Revolution many medieval tapestries were destroyed, both through neglect and through being melted down to recover the gold and silver used in their designs. That did not apply in this case, as the tapestries were in wool only.The surviving fragments were rediscovered in 1848 and preserved, being returned to the cathedral in 1870.The cathedral was not ideal for displaying and preserving the tapestry.The neighbouring Chateau d'Angers had been used as a French military base for many years, but transferred to civilian use after the Second World War. In 1954, the tapestry was moved there, to be displayed in a new gallery designed by French architect Bernard Vitry.Between 1990 and 2000 the castle gallery was itself improved, with additional light and ventilation controls installed to protect the tapestry.
Lille Saint John the Divine illuminated manuscript Hundred Years' War Metz jousting Jean Bondol Second World War Angers Cathedral Tapestry Charles V of France tapestries Angers modello Book of Revelation René of Anjou court artist Apocalypse cartoon Chateau d'Angers Valois dynasty French Revolution Duke of Anjou Louis I