A Gilded Pilgrimage: Reimagining the Bayeaux Tapestry
This course explores the creation of a collaborative illuminated “painted tapestry” inspired by the narrative structure and visual language of the Bayeux Tapestry and the ornamental richness of Romanesque medieval manuscripts. We will take our inspiration from the Bayeux Tapestry, which will be on view in the United Kingdom for the first time in almost 1000 years.
While the original tapestry recounts a historical battle, this course reinterprets its rhythmic procession of riders as a symbolic pilgrimage, transforming the narrative into a contemplative journey.
Working on vellum, students will learn traditional techniques associated with manuscript illumination, including careful drawing, vellum preparation, the application and burnishing of gold leaf, and painting with historically informed pigments. Particular attention will be given to the stylised treatment of horses and figures, decorative borders, and symbolic ornament inspired by
Romanesque manuscript traditions such as those seen in the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells.
Students will be encouraged to work with historically informed materials, including natural pigments. Where appropriate, the traditional blue pigment derived from woad will be used in the painting process, reflecting the use of this plant-based dye in the Bayeux Tapestry and introducing students to the material heritage of medieval colour.
Each student will create an illuminated vellum panel depicting a horse and rider representing an aspect of the cosmic or seasonal cycle, drawing inspiration from medieval calendar imagery often found in manuscript decoration. These riders will form part of a larger allegorical procession, suggesting a pilgrimage that unfolds through the passage of time and the order of the
cosmos.
The final work will bring together all gilded vellum panels to form a single collaborative illuminated tapestry. By reinterpreting the compositional principles of the Bayeux Tapestry through the symbolic language of pilgrimage, the cycle of time, and the decorative traditions of Romanesque manuscripts, the course encourages students to engage deeply with traditional artistic practices while contributing to a shared narrative artwork.
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This course explores the creation of a collaborative illuminated “painted tapestry” inspired by the narrative structure and visual language of the Bayeux Tapestry and the ornamental richness of Romanesque medieval manuscripts. We will take our inspiration from the Bayeux Tapestry, which will be on view in the United Kingdom for the first time in almost 1000 years.
While the original tapestry recounts a historical battle, this course reinterprets its rhythmic procession of riders as a symbolic pilgrimage, transforming the narrative into a contemplative journey.
Working on vellum, students will learn traditional techniques associated with manuscript illumination, including careful drawing, vellum preparation, the application and burnishing of gold leaf, and painting with historically informed pigments. Particular attention will be given to the stylised treatment of horses and figures, decorative borders, and symbolic ornament inspired by
Romanesque manuscript traditions such as those seen in the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells.
Students will be encouraged to work with historically informed materials, including natural pigments. Where appropriate, the traditional blue pigment derived from woad will be used in the painting process, reflecting the use of this plant-based dye in the Bayeux Tapestry and introducing students to the material heritage of medieval colour.
Each student will create an illuminated vellum panel depicting a horse and rider representing an aspect of the cosmic or seasonal cycle, drawing inspiration from medieval calendar imagery often found in manuscript decoration. These riders will form part of a larger allegorical procession, suggesting a pilgrimage that unfolds through the passage of time and the order of the
cosmos.
The final work will bring together all gilded vellum panels to form a single collaborative illuminated tapestry. By reinterpreting the compositional principles of the Bayeux Tapestry through the symbolic language of pilgrimage, the cycle of time, and the decorative traditions of Romanesque manuscripts, the course encourages students to engage deeply with traditional artistic practices while contributing to a shared narrative artwork.
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