R 125 Dame à la licorne: la vue (P.M.) cm 88 x 97 (35” x 38”)

Beginning of 16th century - Cluny museum, Pari

The unicorn contemplates itself in the lady’s mirror

In every tapestry the lady, in the company of her maid, is represented in a garden in bloom, between a lion, symbol of cavalry, and a unicorn, symbol of magistracy’s incorruptibility. The maid doesn’t appear in the two tapestries in which the lady becomes more intimate with the unicorn: in “La vue” the lady is sitting with the unicorn’s forelegs on the lap, in “Le toucher” she caresses its horn.

Private collection last 1 pieces available

Because of this production method, that is unique in the world, art critics consider “Editions d’Art de Rambouillet” tapestries as “the best reproductions of ancient tapestries existing all over the world”.

Gobelins’ tapestries

On the death of Louis XIV, in 1715, the inventory of the crown back well 2.155 Gobelins tapestries. The technique related to this production of painted tapestries, mentioned several times in the “Crown Superintendent’s Register”, seems wrapped in a mystery, the information is rare and jealously guarded. In the same Gobelins’ manufacture, a tapestry maker does not reveal to any other special “the special secret to painting tapestries onto fabric.” These are the origins of the production of tapestries Editions d’Art de Rambouillet. The French company de Rambouillet, referring to the techniques used in the seventeenth century, invented in 1960 an exclusive process for the reproduction of ancient tapestries painted on fabric. It took seven years of research to achieve the desired result.

EDITIONS D’ART DE RAMBOUILLET

Procedure for the creation of De Rambouillet’s tapestries

Once you have chosen the tapestry to be reproduced, it is reproduced full size onto cardboard. Then films  are hand-drawn, one for each colour present in the tapestry. The colours are chosen with the aid of samples of wool. To make films designed for a tapestry takes from six to nine months. When the drawn films are ready, they are arranged on a special frame and coated with gelatin, to proceed to the imprinting with 7000 watts lamps. This process fixes only the gelatin struck by the light, while the remainder is eliminated by washing. The colours are made from base pigments, are unchanged by the light and guaranteed in time. Before applying scrupulous controls and possible correction are carried out, but in undertones every tapestry will always be different because it is always a process of artistic craftsmanship, so you can say that they are unique pieces

Frames’ preparation for the manufacture of tapestries

The tapestry’s fabric is a mixture of linen, viscose and cotton; this is pasted on a table heated to 60 ° C. At this point, the color is spread on the silk-screening frames by means of a spatula, on average from 12 to 17 as there are colours to make our tapestry, to colour the fabric and perform the various steps, one for each film. This is the most delicate operation of the whole process because if a centring mistake happens the tapestry is compromised. When the colouring is finished the tapestry is aged to give it an antique tone.

The tapestry’s lining

To complete the job the fabric on the back is applied by hand with the label on which is given the period in which the tapestry was made with the original name of the subject, the museum where it is stored, then the details on the our tapestry’s production method.

How they were produced :

Wallflor S.n.c. - Editions d'Art de Rambouillet Tapestries' Production - YouTube