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Historical Embroidery News...

How a particular nativity scene went viral in the Middle Ages

21/12/2020

12 Comments

 
We have no contemporary eye-witness accounts of the first Christmas. Still, quite a few of the nativity scenes in the Western world look very much the same. How did that happen? And how does this relate to a group of almost identical embroidered vestments made in Germany in the second half of the 15th-century? What technological innovation was made to ensure near-identical serial production? A perfect story to explore in the last days running up to Christmas 2020!
Picture
Gothic panel painting of the nativity, ca. AD 1415, Vienna or Styria
Picture
Lime stone relief, second quarter of the 15th-century, Ulm
As said, conventional knowledge has it that none of the witnesses of the first Christmas left a written and signed account of the events. But through the ages, some people have claimed that they were transported back in time and witnessed the scene. They had a revelation. For Western Art, the revelations of Saint Bridget of Sweden (AD c. 1303-1373) are very important. Saint Bridget describes the scene as follows: Mary is a bare-headed blond-haired woman who together with Joseph kneels in prayer over the infant Jesus who radiates divine light. Saint Bridget became a bit of a celebrity during her life and her revelations were turned into images that went viral in most of Europe. It successfully replaced earlier conventional pictures of the nativity where Mary is reclining on a bed (still popular in Orthodox Christianity). You can see an example on the chasuble from St. Paul im Lavanttal (at the top on the back; the scene with the red background).
Picture
Copyright Metropolitan Museum, The Robert Lehmann Collection, Inv. Nr. 1975.1.1898
The images of the revelation of Saint Bridget were so popular, that they were also reproduced in embroidery for the orphreys found on chasubles. These orphreys are so similar that their designs must have a common source. Printing on paper with the help of woodcuts and metal engraving was invented in the first decades of the 15th-century and quickly became popular to cheaply spread imagery. Research into the composition of the design lines on some of these orphreys has shown that these designs were likely printed onto the embroidery fabric too. If you click on the pictures of the pieces from the MET and the Wartburg, you can explore further pictures on the institution's websites.
Picture
Copyright Kunstsammlung der Wartburg-Stiftung, Inv. Nr. KT 7)
Picture
And here is a fragment kept at the Bayrische National Museum (Inv. Nr. T297) with the singing angels. Although these embroideries were made in serial production, slight variations do exist. Not only in the colours used, but also in the number or arrangement of the figures. In this case, a more pleasing composition was achieved by adding a third angel. There are quite a few other examples out there, but I don't have pictures of them that I am allowed to publish. If you would like to dive into the topic a little further, please explore the literature.

Literature
Fricks, J. von, 2010. Serienproduktion im Medium mittelalterlicher Stickerei - Holzschnitte als Vorlagematerial für eine Gruppe mittelrheinischer Kaselkreuze des 15. Jahrhunderts. In: U.-Ch. Bergemann & A. Stauffer, Reiche Bilder. Aspekte zur Produktion und Funktion von Stickereien im Spätmittelalter, Regensburg: Schnell & Steiner.
Wetter, E., 2012. Mittelalterliche Textilien III. Stickerei bis um 1500 und figürlich gewebte Borten, Riggisberg: Abegg-Stiftung.
12 Comments
Claire
21/12/2020 15:37:06

I love learning this kind of stuff! Thank you so much for your research and sharing!
Wonderful Christmas time to you!

Reply
Dr. Jessica Grimm link
21/12/2020 15:39:56

Thank you Claire!

Reply
Darcy Walker
21/12/2020 15:41:48

Live these odd bits of information - particularly how designs travel and become incorporated into the culture. Thank you and Merry Christmas.

Reply
Dr. Jessica Grimm link
21/12/2020 15:43:30

Thank you Darcy!

Reply
Agne
21/12/2020 16:24:12

Jessica, thank you for this very Christmas story!

Am I right that you planned to prepare a kit with these angels for a class in UK? Are you still going to make it and, if so, can we hope to buy it as a kit?

Have a nice and safe Christmas time!

Reply
Dr. Jessica Grimm link
21/12/2020 16:34:26

Thank you Agne! I was going to teach the angels design at the Lady Anne's Needlework Festival organised by the Crewelwork Company in 2021. However, this edition has now been post-poned to 2022. It will be an exclusive design for the Crewelwork Company, so it will not be available outside that setting.

Reply
Agne
21/12/2020 16:38:22

My heart is bleeding, because they are in UK, so with Brexit at the door the kit will cost much more...

But I am very glad about you. Having your kit in their site will be a new door for you to reach more people.

Rachel link
22/12/2020 14:43:08

It's always interesting to see things we consider modern, like "going viral", actually happened in the medieval period - maybe a little more slowly, but for longer!

Reply
Dr. Jessica Grimm link
22/12/2020 14:46:28

Indeed, Rachel. And how revolutionary the rudimentary printing methods were. Once you start paying attention, this type of the nativity is everywhere.

Reply
Barbara
22/12/2020 18:09:36

Herzlichen Dank für diesen Beitrag, aber auch all die anderen interessanten Informationen über mittelalterliche Stickereien. Schöne Weihnachten!

Reply
Dr. Jessica Grimm link
22/12/2020 19:09:52

Gern geschehen, Barbara!

Reply
Christiane
25/12/2020 12:43:52

Interessant, dass ich für meine eigenen Arbeiten immer noch vorgehe wie vor Jahrhunderten. Für einen Adventskalender habe ich mir die Motive überall zusammengesucht: Weihnachtskarten, Geschenkpapier, Bilderbücher usw. Dann habe ich sie abgezeichnet, auf den Stoff übertragen und nach meinem Gefühl gestickt. Längst nicht zu kunstvoll, aber der Kalender macht nach über 40 Jahren der 3. Generation Freude.
Danke für die immer wieder überraschenden und interessanten Beiträge. Weihnachtliche Grüße aus dem grauen Berlin ins hoffentlich! verschneite Allgäu.

Reply



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