My research is sketchy, to say the least, since time is in short supply at One Off. But I have had fun tracking down just these few paintings of women doing their tapestry.
One thing I noticed in the following portraits is that it is not always clear exactly what the needlewomen are doing!
Portraits in the Country (1875) Gustav Caillabotte
This painting includes the artist’s mother, aunt, cousin and a family friend. These ladies are dressed in mourning and are losing themselves in a peaceful afternoon with their embroidery. However the one at the back is clearly sitting before a tapestry frame – even though she actually appears to be reading a book!
Woman & Child doing Needlework 1877 Camille Pissaro
This is more like it! This woman has left the mending to her mother in the doorway while she gets on with her wonderfully colourful tapestry in the sunshine.
Lydia Seated at a Tapestry Loom (1880) Mary Cassatt
The title of this portrait differs according to where you find it. But most frequently it refers to Lydia at her ‘loom’.
This is not a loom but a tapestry frame. The way Lydia is stitching with one hand under the canvas and one above to feed the needle to and fro is very typical. I would even venture to say that she is left-handed! I am right-handed and when I stitch, it is my more dextrous hand that stays beneath the canvas.
Half Sick of Shadows Said The Lady of Shalott 1915 John William Waterhouse
THIS is a Tapestry Loom – and the tapestry is being woven, not stitched.
The warp threads stretch out of the picture towards the back of the loom and you can see one shuttle on her lap and two more ready for use. Her bobbin winder is beside her.
How her back aches! She is having a little stretch before rolling down her work. With weaving you start at the bottom and work up row by row and she has reached a point where she would be hunched over her work to see what she is doing. No wonder she is ‘half sick of shadows’
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