The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design and Culture is presenting “English Embroidery from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, circa 1580-1700: ‘Twixt Art and Nature” through April 12.
The exhibition draws some 80 pieces from the Metropolitan’s collection of embroidered objects made for secular use during the late Tudor and Stuart eras, supplemented with comparative materials from the museum and other institutions and private collectors.
These objects have usually been regarded as a discrete body of work, removed from any sense of their original settings and contexts. The embroideries were, however, created and used by the gentry of England for personal adornment and to decorate their homes, and feature designs and patterns that reflect contemporary religious ideals, education concepts and fashionable motifs.
One of the principal goals of this exhibition is to give aesthetic and scholarly credence to these often technically complex, thematically rich and compelling objects. The significance of the objects within the social and cultural economy of Seventeenth Century domestic life is examined by juxtaposing them with contemporary prints, books and decorative arts.
The exhibition is presented on three floors and is organized in sections that explore thematic and typological characteristics of the embroideries.
The introductory section on the first floor is centered on the theme of royalty and serves to provide historical background for the visitor. It contains objects of courtly ceremonial and domestic pieces that reinforce the importance of the idea of monarchy to court and country throughout a period in which stable rule under the Tudors was followed by civil war, regicide and the eventual restoration of monarchy under the Stuarts.
The overarching theme of the second-floor galleries is the use of embroidered objects within the domestic setting. There are three specific themes: the role of embroidery in the education of girls and young women, the survival of rare and precious accessories of dress, and the production and function of domestic furnishings.
The display of objects related to education and technique is followed by a display of fashion accessories from the early Seventeenth Century. One rare complete garment, an embroidered jacket from about 1616, is highlighted. Continuing the theme of objects made for domestic use, the second floor concludes with domestic furnishings produced at both the amateur and professional levels.
The third floor installation explores in detail two of the most popular themes in the pictorial embroidery of the period: stories drawn from the Bible and the depiction of nature. The objects here depict the centrality of the Bible in contemporary domestic life and reflect the use of exemplary biblical heroines as models of virtuous behavior in the upbringing of young women.
Original printed images and texts, combined with high-quality photo reproductions, are presented, along with three digital videos that demonstrate stitch techniques, to enhance visitors’ understanding of this art form.
The Bard Graduate Center is at 18 West 86th Street, between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. For information, www.bgc.bard.edu or 212-501-3013.
