The Art of Embroidery

Embroidery, in effect, is above all a decoration and was born precisely from simple, utilitarian seams that, no longer used only to hold together two or more pieces of fabric, became ornamental when they were repeated, adapted, and alternated to create only simple geometric patterns. But embroidery is also design, with a needle and a simple thread, it is possible to “draw” on any support, from fabric to paper and – why not – even on unusual materials like metal or ceramics, as in the recent works by young artists and designers who have rediscovered embroidery as a means of expression. Finally, embroidery becomes a sign and, like all signs, turns into a way of conveying meaning and sense when used to confer a special emphasis on particular ceremonial objects, either sacred hangings and vestments or royal mantles, or even – and the difference is not as great as we may think – wedding or evening dresses, tablecloths for special occasions, sheets and all the linen in a woman’s trousseau.

Using simple tools like needles, crochet hooks and frames, and materials – common ones like wool or cotton, refined ones like linen or silk, or even very precious ones like silver or gold threads – it is possible to play with an infinite variety of stitches that embroiderers have devised over time: going from simple linear stitches to crossed stitches, knotted ones and those with a relief effect. There are, then, stitches that permit “painting” the fabric and others that make it seems to be the work of a goldsmith, as in appliqué embroidery – only to name some of the most common techniques.

The embroidery tradition has very ancient roots in Florence and its countryside, but it was in the 15th century, when painters who furnished the designs and embroiderers who carried out the work became extremely close collaborators, that the art of embroidery reached some of its greatest heights, as testified by such masterpieces as the altar frontal by Paolo Schiavo for Santa Maria Novella, the altar hanging for San Giovanni by Antonio del Pollaiolo, and the designs by Sandro Botticelli for chasubles and pluvials. But if the names of the painters who provided the cartoons and models are often well-known, the embroiderers unfortunately have remained almost always unknown. If they were workshop owners, they were usually enrolled in the Arte di Por Santa Maria, their guild, but as they were mainly women, they often worked at home, and for a long time embroidery was for them the only source of independent income. Especially from the 17th century forwards, embroidery became an exclusively female prerogative: out of necessity, embroidery was carried out in
homes and convents, and for pleasure at the court. Embroidery became one of the pillars of a young girl’s education, as in the famous Leopoldine schools, founded by the Grand Duke in 1778. The 19th century was a century of great changes: the introduction of chemical coloring agents broadened the available palette but often the colors were not stable and this affected the quality of the work. Also the introduction of machines capable of carrying out some stitches together with the different conditions of life, brought about a gradual decline of embroidery as a true form of art. At the same time, however, it is in these years and in those at the turn of the 20th century that some of the most important collections of embroidered artifacts were formed (Stibbert, Carrand, and Franchetti). On the other hand, in the countryside – thanks to the work of some noblewomen in search of an antidote to the endemic female poverty – embroidery became an instrument of social and cultural redemption, as well as an indispensable source of income for peasant women. Today fashion has rediscovered embroidery that, in a thousand different materials, has finally returned to embellish dresses and accessories. Artists and designers have started exploring its most evocative, hidden potential and they have brought it back making it fashionable again. An ancient art has returned to being a modern one as also attested by the artisanal workshops in Florence that still today offer their small masterpieces.

by Laura Casprini Gentile