William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones

The revival of medieval tapestries in the 19th century has a lot to do with the works of William Morris. Tapestries own their popularity and resurgence to the arts movement headed by William Morris in the late 1800’s throughout England. Morris was responsible for reviving many old art forms, but some of his most famous works were tapestries including the tapestry entitled The Tree of Life.

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Morris was part of a wealthy family and after an unremarkable childhood attended Exeter College in Oxford England. Morris had always had an interest in art, especially the works of the pre-renaissance era, but it was not until he met painter Edward Burne-Jones that he began his creative quest to revive and preserve medieval art forms. Burne-Jones, Morris, and other students founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood a group of artists that looked to the art and culture of Middle Ages for inspiration.

Tapestries were of special inspiration to Morris who though modern production methods and designs were not nearly as creative and noble as the methods and designs of centuries past. He built a traditional high-warp loom and taught himself how to weave in the traditional French manner. He designed some of the most famous tapestries of the time including The Tree of Life and The Woodpecker with help from colleagues. He used medieval styles, techniques, and inspiration to create these famous hangings.

Morris went on to found a production company, Morris and Co. who produced many different textiles from carpet to wallpaper and gave Morris a great outlet for his creative designs. Morris and Co. eventually dissolved but not for a few years after Morris’ death and after creating many different works of art. Morris designed and produced stained glass, tapestries, ceramic tiles, furniture, wallpaper, and carpets. Morris and Co. went a long way in reviving many of these ailing crafts and art forms.

Burne-Jones also worked with Morris and designed many pieces for Morris and Co. Burne-Jones designed many tapestries as well as window glass all of which having inspiration from the Middle Ages. Burne-Jones had a special affinity for tapestries, and like many of his other works he specialized in creating figures in his tapestries. He became an expert craftsman and even lectured on the subject. Morris and Burne-Jones also designed and manufactured furniture along with their other

Morris and Burne-Jones’ foray into furniture design began in 1856 when they began designing furniture for their empty rental after being unable to find furniture that met their aesthetic tastes. This led Morris to explore embroidery and different styles of furniture decoration. Morris believed that a designer should be experienced in all of the aspects of a technique so he studied fiber dying techniques as well. Morris designed and created many tapestries and wall hangings entirely himself, even dying the thread with plant materials. One such wall hanging entitled If I Can was one of the first that Morris designed and created and also reflected his desire to see his work through from idea to finished piece.