I am looking for a super huge wall tapestry for a large bare wall in the living room. I am up for anything but really do love “the tree of life.” I can’t seem to find many BIG tapestries on line.
Art works by famous artists generally inspires the creation of Art Tapestries. Tapestries are the creative expressions weaved in the textile depicting various images like landscapes, animals, nature forms like trees etc. Tapestries are a part of our ancient legacy but are admired even today for their uniqueness and exquisiteness. Tapestries-tapestry.com is a site that displays a vast collection of this wonderful art along with the different types and styles of this ancient art form. Art tapestries are also a major part of this awesome collectionArt tapestries are the reproductions of famous art works made by famous artists like François Boucher, Claude Monet, Burne Jones, Pre-Raphaelic and Michelangelo etc.Francois Boucher, a French painter who lived in the eighteenth century was a very accomplished artist. Many of his beautiful paintings were reproduced in tapestries during the Renaissance period. The renowned painter was known for his pastoral work and mythological scenes. His much-acclaimed work embodies frivolity and sensuousness of the typical rococo style; Triumph of Venus, Loves of God, etc. are few of his famous compositions. He mastered the subjects like landscapes, history, mythology, portraiture, still life etc.Raphael one of the greatest European master, who was much sought after during his lifetime. His paintings were known for their exquisite taste and refinement. The celebrated artist is best known for his large figure compositions and specially his Madonnas.Michelangelo an Italian sculptor, painter, poet and architect, needs no introduction was one of the founders of the High Renaissance. Pieta and David are his best sculptures while ‘The last judgment’ was one of his best paintings.The works of these renowned artists are reproduced in the art tapestries and you can proudly display a Michelangelo or a François Boucher in your living room if you wish so. The tapestries of art are very good gift items and are appreciated by the receiver as well. The tapestries are a prized possession of an art collector and are also cherished as family heirlooms too.
If you have never considered a tapestry as part of the wall decor of your home, you have been missing out from one of the most beautiful and individual art forms of all time. Although tapestries have been around for many centuries, the variety or selection of themes available today is by far what is so exciting about these woven works of magnificent art. In the beginning tapestries were hand woven and took many, many hours of work to produce the final product. This left little to choose from in the form of tapestry subjects. The early tapestries were either likenesses of royalty or images conceived from Bible stories. Down through time, with the invention of machines to produce tapestries, this art form became much less time consuming. The result was that tapestries could now be made with the same or better quality in a variety of different art topics and could be duplicated many times over for all who appreciated fine art at a reasonable cost. Today you have choices. More choices than you could possibly imagine. So you have to ask yourself, “What am I looking for in a tapestry?” Only you have the answer to that question. The answer lies in the theme or basic decor of the room in which you plan to hang the tapestry. There are several factors involved in choosing a tapestry for your decorating theme. You have to know style, genre, color and theme. Once you have answers to those, you now have to decide on size. But let’s not get too far ahead. We should go over this in deeper detail. I’m going to start out with tapestry styles. When we talk about tapestry styles you have, but are not limited to Fine Art, Decorative, Modern, Vintage, Abstract, American Folk Art, Antique Traditional, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts, Classical, Cubism, Figurative, Impressionism, Native/Primitive, Neoclassicism, Post-Impressionism, Pre-Raphaelites, Realism, Renaissance, Romanticism, Traditional, Transitional, Viennese and Expressionism. Try not to be overwhelmed by the long list of styles. This is good because you have something in this list that will complete the decor of almost any decorative theme a room could possibly have. Now let’s explore genre. Genre actually sets the mood or topic of the tapestry. Here your choices are, but not limited to Action/Adventure, Alternative, Classical, Contemporary, Contemporary Still Life, Country and Rustic, Drama, Fantasy, Novelty, Patriot, Romantic, Still Life and Traditional Still Life. There are more genres, but this give you a starting point to explore. Next you will want to consider color. After all, your tapestry should fit in with the color scheme of the room in which it hangs. With color you have black and white, blacks, blues, reds, browns, creams, golds, grays, greens, oranges, pinks, purples, tans, whites, yellows and multi-color. This is just a partial color list to give you an idea of the choices you have. Last, but not least, you will want to consider themes to match the environment of the room you will proudly hang your tapestry. The theme you choose will set the entire mood or feel of the room. Whatever emotion you want to express will be brought to the forefront through the theme of your tapestry. Here are some of the themes offered on these beautiful woven works of art. You have Entertainment, Fashion, Gambling, Nudes, Coffee/Tea, Wine, Fruits/Vegetables, Cuisine, Angels, Portrait, Figures, Botanical, Bouquet, Mediterranean, Backyards & Patios, Countryside, Desert, Farms, Floral/Plants, Formal Gardens, Fruits, Lake & Pond, Landscape, Nature/Outdoors, River and Streams, Seaside, Southwestern, Still Life Plants, Towns, Trees, Tropical, Cityscapes, Architecture, Storefronts, Architectural Detail, Buildings, European Buildings, Houses, Restaurants/Bars, Children’s Art, Antique Maps, Maps, Animals, Birds, Fish/Marine Life, Jungle Wildlife, Birdcages, Dogs, Horses, Insects, Shells, Tropical Birds, Wildlife, Medieval, Native American, Victorian/British, War/Military, Mythology, Pottery and Vases, Antique, Sports, Holidays and Special Occasions, Motivational and Religious. Although the list of themes above is quite large, it only touches on a small part of all the themes available on a wall tapestry. I provided you with this list of tapestry themes in order to give you an idea of the big picture (no pun intended). I wanted you to see just how large a selection is truly available to you. The great benefit of adding a tapestry to the decor of any room is how the room comes alive with emotion. No matter what style, genre, color or theme, you will always have a feeling of pride when you enter a room that displays a tapestry proudly.
For all lovers of the outdoors, paintings and prints abound that record the glories of nature. For the most part, however, they come across as but faint shadows of the real thing, flat and two dimensional. This is one reason tapestries featuring outdoor scenes are so popular.
The three dimensional effect tapestries bring to themes like woodland groves or stormy seas adds an inestimable amount of interest to the subject matter. There are many sizes and styles of tapestry, but ones that feature the outdoors are favorites everywhere. The natural colors blend with almost any décor, and they are appropriate for any room in the house.
Depictions of shady clearings and sunlight shafting through trees are a common sight in many tapestry shops. The peacefulness is tinged with excitement when you spot the doe and fawn almost hidden at the edge of the tree line. Other portrayals have a stag standing front and center, in full antlered glory.
Lions tigers and elephants and even camels are beautifully rendered to bring a touch of the safari right into your living area. Tame parrots and macaws can be depicted in excruciating detail, so realistic you half expect them to jump off the wall and start flying around the room.
Simple fields of wildflowers or hidden mountain springs with waterfalls are also subjects of interest, creating a calming feeling. These are lovely when placed in bedrooms and studies to provide a restful atmosphere. Garden scenes have almost an Impressionist feel when transferred to tapestry.
Other tapestries show realistic versions of farmhouses and covered bridges, trails winding across prairies and pastured livestock. Horses hang their heads over the corral fence; chickens peck in the grass. Any of these tapestries can be hung to provide a type of picture window; a view into another world.
Hunting scenes are wildly popular, featuring every aspect of the hunt from the gathering before hand to the actual chase to the capture. Hounds and horsemen, stag, fox or hare are depicted in fluid motion. These tapestries are favored for dens and family rooms, providing some action and heat on cool fall evenings.
Nautical themes are popular as well. Historical tapestries show events such as pitched battles fought on the high seas and panoramic views of harbors and merchant ships. Gondolas in Venice pull back away from the bustle and bring a quiet laziness to the viewer’s mind.
The lions, peacocks and woodpeckers shown in Pre-Raphaelite artist’s works are less lifelike but just as powerfully rendered. Mythical beasts such as dragons and unicorns abound, and interact with humans in conflict or friendship. These historical pieces are great for display in larger rooms of the house.
The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries are legendary, as are several different portrayals of Saint George vanquishing the Dragon. Pastoral scenes of carthorses and swine yield glimpses into the bucolic country life if centuries ago, and the backgrounds are soothing.
Chinese tapestries with their stylized horses and intricate bird patterns offer an exotic touch. The colors used to detail the kimonos and trappings of the steeds are incredibly intense. Again, skirmishes are common themes of tapestries. Dragons figure prominently in Asian lore as well, and can be portrayed in many different way.
Smaller tapestries often focus on domesticated animals, such as dogs and horses. These tapestries can be incorporated into handbags or throw pillows. Royalty used to demand to be painted with their favorite hound or lapdog, and the trend continues to this day with owners seeking out handbags featuring their favorite breed.
Some tapestries, such as ones from India, have a bold style when it comes to flowers or fruit. If you like plump and rounded brightly colored fruit these tapestries are cheery and enjoyable. Other styles are more lifelike, drawing from the reality of nature, and some seem almost inspired.
Chenille tapestries often show flowers that look intensely real. Butterflies, too are featured and appear to be meticulously accurate down to the tiniest detail. Chenille tapestries are extremely soft, woven with a special yarn that leaves a fuzzy effect.
Still other tapestries show the outdoors in the grip of different seasons – spring flowers, summer wheat, autumn leaves and winter sceneries blanketed with snow. All of these seem somehow more alive and real in the tactile form of tapestry.
If you want the inside of your home to remind you of the outside, you can’t go wrong with tapestries. They will bring the wilderness straight into your living room, with a rich beauty and style that your family and friends will admire.
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Tapestries have been around for centuries; they’ve been used as shrouds, blankets, bed curtains, robes and upholstery. Their biggest value, however, may have always come from simply hanging on the wall. Tapestries have been energy savers since the first king hung the first pictorial story of his conquests on the stone that made up his dining hall.
How Tapestries Save Energy.
Tapestries are natural insulators. They help add a dense layer to the wall, forming a stronger barrier against cold and draft seeping through. They absorb heat and release it back into the room instead of letting it seep through the walls and windows, decreasing the need for excess heat and helping to balance a room’s temperature.
In the summer, tapestries help keep homes more comfortable, preventing cool air from escaping the same way as they keep the heat in during cold weather. This makes them a sensible choice for wall coverings, as they serve a purpose by acting as insulation. The larger the tapestry, the more coverage is obtained and this is also a great way to cover windows in a room used for sleeping during the daytime.
There are many advantages to tapestries over traditional methods for preventing heat or cooling loss (foil over the windows or extra space heaters). Using tapestries in this fashion harks back to the days of castles when tapestries were used not only to make rooms warmer but were pressed into service as bed hangings so the nobles’ body heat would be contained. Tapestries doubled as coverlets in some households, and many small weavings are still used as lap robes or throws today.
Tapestries can be Functional and Beautiful.
The other side to tapestries is their decorating potential. Any home can benefit aesthetically by the addition of some fine wall art, and you can choose from any style, era or genre you wish. Look for a coat of arms if you are intimate with the genealogy of your family, or opt for a traditional oriental tapestry with depictions of dragons or gardens. Tapestries from India feature elephants and other exotic animals as well as intricate floral designs.
The Medieval years and ensuing Renaissance kicked off an entirely new field of tapestry art, as tactiles drew abreast of painting and sculpting. With this rise to the proper level by woven works of art came the new fad toward reproduction. Making sure that the quality stayed consistent and that each tapestry was still unique became the job of master weavers who tutored young apprentices and journeymen in the trade.
The beautiful tapestries available today are affordable due to the invention of the Jacquard loom, which hastened weaving time and greatly reduced the costs associated with producing tapestries. Since they were now affordable, tapestries rapidly became much more readily available to the average home owner.
The twentieth and twenty-first centuries have brought even newer delights to tapestry lovers everywhere. Many tapestries have been discovered in the last century, and been successfully restored. Copies of these are guaranteed conversation starters! Some of the most famous tapestries, Lady and a Unicorn, or the Tree of Life, have become so popular that finding a reproduction is not hard. Others, such as obscure religious scenes, may be harder to find.
Why Choose Tapestries to Cover Your Walls?
Tapestries have been used as decoration almost as long as they have been used for drafty halls. They offered the perfect medium through which to translate events throughout the land. Wars and battles, meteor showers and historic novelties were all worked in bright colors and annotated with additional characters; ribald humor and a down to earth across the board manner was designed to deal with the average man.
This offered monarchs and priests the influence to regulate what news their serfs received, and how it was taken. As time went by and the art evolved, many things began to be depicted on tapestries. Simple everyday tasks like harvesting, feeding geese or riding after the hounds were common and popular. Others included Raphaelite Angels or New Testament scenes.
Still other types of tapestry, used primarily to please the eye, can be bought and used on the wall, the couch etc. The value of having a wall covering that can fit the space required is high, and any nook or cranny can benefit by a small tapestry that fits your overall decor.
Plan on adding tapestries to your list of Home and Garden projects – when your redecorate and refurnish, you should look into woven wall art and see if it will work in your own home. You an cut down a little on energy costs and present an edgy, classic style of decorating to your friends and family. Insulation and decoration – the tapestries can help make a room pop, and serve a dual purpose that represents green living at its finest.
