Arguments and examples are given that tend to show that artists of the middle ages worked, as do those of the present day, by copying nature, by copying other people's work, from their memories of both of these, by building up a picture from a written description, or from imagination. This view is then applied to a detailed discussion of the Bayeux Tapestry, especially of the animals in its borders. These include illustrations of Aesop's Fables, genre scenes, evangelist symbols, and some that appear to be based on a lost, possibly Anglo-Saxon, bestiary. The bearing of this on the date and place of the tapestry is briefly discussed. - [Abstract]

Language: English

DOI: 10.1016/0304-4181(87)90042-X