Unique in the world and registered since May 2023 in the UNESCO Memory of the World register, the Angers Apocalypse Tapestry would never have reached us without a little luck and the determination of a 19th century canon. The documentary “The Crazy History of the Apocalypse” deciphers the big and small secrets of this monumental work which has miraculously stood the test of time.
All visitors can attest to this: entering for the first time – and even subsequent times – into the darkness of the gallery which houses the Apocalypse Tapestry at the Château d’Angers is an impressive immersive experience. A woven monument originally 140 meters long and 6 high, it today extends over 103 meters of panels arranged in two rows.
More than 400 characters, a representation of great finesse of plants, animals, clothing, human figures and architecture: the Apocalypse is undoubtedly a “must” of what could be done at the time of his order, in 1373 by Louis 1ᵉʳ, Duke of Anjou. The latter, brother of King Charles V, called on the best artists of his time, including Hennequin of Bruges who designed the cartoons.
The technique used to weave the Apocalypse Tapestry does not reveal any knots on the reverse side of the work. • © Viva Productions
Weaving this textile masterpiece will take seven years. Today’s weavers still admire the technique used which mixes wool, gold and silver threads. Tour de force: the reverse side of the Tapestry shows no knots and offers preserved colors to contemporary restorers.
Its extraordinary dimensions constitute the original enigma of the Tapestry. “Its use and destination remain a mystery. We do not know of any room among the castles of Louis I that was large enough to display the entirety of the Tapestry of l’Apocalypse” indicates Marc-Édouard Gautier, archivist, paleographer and medievalist. The only documented presentation during the sponsor’s lifetime took place in Arles in 1400, during the marriage of the son of Louis I. A marvelous writing from the time testifies to its temporary exhibition in the courtyard of the Archbishopric where it covers 140 meters of the four walls. Thanks to a digital reconstruction, the documentary “The crazy story of the Apocalypse” gives us an impressive animated vision.
This reconstruction gives an idea of the splendor of the exhibition of the Tapestry of the Apocalypse at the archbishopric of Arles in 1400 • © Viva Productions
In the Middle Ages, we did not speak of a “Wow effect” as we would say today, but that was indeed the desired goal: because the monumentality presents in images The Apocalypse, a hallucinatory story written by John of Patmos in the first century AD and which forms the last book of the Bible Vision after vision, Saint John describes the battle of good and evil with the help of plagues, demons, battles until the revelation, the true meaning of the word “apocalypse”.
In short, very spectacular for those who had the opportunity to see it at the end of the 14th century, and not only for its biblical message. The times were, in fact, very troubled: the Great Plague had wiped out the populations of the whole of Europe, the Hundred Years’ War was raging, the Kingdom of France was shaken by revolts.
When he ordered the tapestry, Louis 1ᵉʳ of Anjou sent a message: “The text of Saint John in the 1st century which evokes difficult times that humanity is going through resonates particularly in the mind of Louis 1st. underlines Catherine Leroi, Head of the cultural department of the Château d’Angers. “Presumably, he is saying that what is described is also what the kingdom is experiencing. It is a period of war and great political instability, and like Saint John, it would be a question of saying that by behaving well, like good Christians and good knights, appeasement will come.”
The coat of arms of the House of Anjou is represented multiple times in the scenes of the Apocalypse Tapestry, which also contain a number of symbols and codes. • © Viva Productions
Supported by animation, the documentary deciphers numerous scenes where the context of the Hundred Years’ War mixes with biblical mythology. In doing so, the tapestry offers the general public of the Middle Ages access to a story hitherto reserved for owners of manuscripts, scholars and nobles. In a way, Revelation is medieval mass media, before the invention of the printing press.
The tapestry remained in the House of Anjou until the death of King René in 1474, who bequeathed it to Angers Cathedral. It will be hung there very regularly, rings sealed in the walls of the upper galleries of the building still bear witness to this today.
The years and centuries pass, and the fashion for tapestry falls into disuse. In the 18th century, the Apocalypse was scrapped and the canons tried to sell it without success. The panels are scattered, sometimes cut, pieces are used as blankets for the horses, the gold threads attract all desire. Looting during the revolutionary period will do the rest. It is estimated that only a hundredth of the tapestry production of the Middle Ages has reached us. That the Apocalypse is still visible today is therefore a miracle… And owes much to the tenacity of a passionate canon, Louis-François Joubert.
One of the many panels restored in the 19th century thanks to the action of Canon Joubert, true savior of the Apocalypse Tapestry • © Viva Productions
At the beginning of the 19th century, what remained of the tapestry was returned to the Church, in a deplorable state and many pieces were missing. “Abbot Joubert must have been a personality with extraordinary dynamism” smiles Clémentine Mathurin, Curator of historic monuments at the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs Pays de la Loire. A true savior of the tapestry, he scoured farms and markets to find as many fragments as possible, directed the necessary restorations and repairs which would give it more or less the appearance we know it today, notably its presentation in an alternation of backgrounds. blue and red.
Thus reconstituted, the Apocalypse Tapestry regains its exceptional character, and will be shown until the middle of the 20th century in numerous universal exhibitions around the world. In 1954, a gallery was built in the heart of the Château d’Angers for its permanent presentation. A setting which proved fatal to the rich colors of the weaving: letting in massive amounts of daylight, the building could have definitively ruined the efforts of Abbé Joubert. Since the mid-1980s, it is under dim lighting and in darkness that the Apocalypse reveals its monumentality and the subtlety of its details, 650 years after its creation.
A story which is not yet over: again in 2020, fragments were discovered during the inventory of a Parisian gallery. They are now stored in the reserves of the permanent exhibition, where the directors’ camera takes us to admire certain scenes rarely, or never, shown to the public.
The reserves of the Château d’Angers house numerous fragments of the Apocalypse Tapestry which are only presented to the public during temporary exhibitions • © Viva Productions
Quite rightly, the documentary “The crazy story of the Apocalypse” offers a detour to the Jean-Lurçat museum in Angers dedicated to contemporary tapestry. Impressed by the Apocalypse, Lurçat echoed it by composing, in his turn, at the end of the 1950s, a monumental textile work which can be admired there, “Le Chant du Monde”. No dragons, demons or famine in Lurçat, but the scourge of the nuclear threat, still present.
Thus, from the monumental tapestry to the Oppenheimer blockbuster, from the loom to digital cinema, from the visions of John of Patmos to the interpretations of Hennequin of Bruges, from Lurçat to Nolan, the journey through time continues. From the Middle Ages to today, the immersive experience of the apocalyptic story continues to engulf our gaze, and, through the dizziness it provides, offers us the end of the world as an object of meditation.
“The Crazy History of the Apocalypse”, a documentary (52′) written by Frédéric Stenz directed by Nicolas Fauvel
A Viva Productions – France 3 Pays de la Loire co-production
Broadcast Thursday September 14 at 11:05 p.m.
Rebroadcasts at 9:10 a.m. Friday September 15 and Tuesday September 26, Thursday October 5
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