Bayeux Tapestry: The Best Tapestry Ever

It is sort of like an adult version of a children's book, telling a story in a series of pictures and often one picture segués into the next to give a real sense of continuity. The embroidery is good, but not outstanding. Unlike many embroideries, the backing cloth is left bare across much of the tapestry - figures are sewn to tell the tale but no attempt has been made to give them a detailed background. It's like a play with props on stage, but no lavish scenery hangings at the back of the stage. Personally, I like that effect. My father was a watercolor artist and he always said skilled watercolor artist worked with the paper as well as the paint - leaving bare white to give highlights in water for instance. With that background, I can appreciate leaving the background of the Bayeux tapestry un-sewn as a good way of giving more prominence to the figures. And, over the centuries, the backing cloth has also faded to wonderful muted brown redolent with age and a range of hues, The tapestry in my opinion probably looks better now than it did when freshly sewn.

You don't come away from seeing it amazed about it as a piece of art. The size is impressive though, as is the sense of drama it conveys. Well worth seeing but maybe not something for the "bucket list" of things that must be done.

I'm not the first to think of it as a story book. David Norman not only saw the same way but animated the middle section of the tapestry. It's one of the best short animations I've seen. Highly recommended.

To the unlilkely strains on Video Killed the Radio Star by the Buggles (really), this slideshow presents a series of images from the tapestry. Despite the music (actually i quite like it - and you can always mute the sound), it's the best gallery of images I have managed to find.