The Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, in partnership with the Centre Pompidou and as part of the AR[t]CHIPEL festival, presents eleven tapestries by the artist Renaud Auguste-Dormeuil for the exhibition Hope It Was Worth It.
Five tapestries from the collections of the Estate (The Story of Perseus and Pegasus, Ulysses and Ajax Disputing the Arms of Achilles, The Judgement of Paris, The Story of Dido and Aeneas, The Capture of Saguntum by Hannibal) have been placed here for the occasion.
Since the Middle Ages, tapestry has been regarded as a so-called “decorative” art. Yet its practice has never ceased to run through the history of art, enriching it with countless masterpieces. During the Renaissance and the 17th century, illustrious artists such as Raphael and Poussin helped to give the art of tapestry its prestige. The productions of Aubusson bear witness to the excellence and influence of this practice, with the founding of the Manufacture des Gobelins in the 17th century.
Any journey through the history of art is no less a journey through human history: the project Hope It Was Worth It #1 sets out to bring these two histories together in one single tapestry.
It is estimated that producing one square metre of tapestry can take between one and ten months of work, depending on the technique and the fineness of the weaving. It is therefore easy to imagine that during the long period in which a tapestry was being made, even as the weavers were at their looms, important events were taking place in the world.
