As we approach the 68th anniversary of the Landings, a stay in the touristic area of Bayeux-Bessi ...[+]
The Bayeux Tapestry Museum is about to host an outstanding exhibition, from 31st March to 30th December 2011, recognised as being of national interest by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication: "Emakimono and the Bayeux Tapestry, animated cartoons from the Middle Ages".
For the first time in the West, the exhibition represents an encounter between two cultures in the form of two major works listed "Memory of the World": the Ban Dainagon emaki ( a 12th Century narrative handscroll, painted onto paper) and the Bayeux Tapestry (a 11th Century embroidery, woven onto linen cloth).
Listed National Treasure of Japan, the Ban Dainagon emaki (also named Roll of Grand Councillor Ban) never leaves the Idemitsu Museum of Tokyo, and neither can the Tapestry be moved from Bayeux or its showcase. The two masterpieces will therefore be presented side by side in the form of collotypes. A collotype - a hand painted photography - is in itself a work of art.
This exhibition-event is based on an original idea by M. Takahata Isao, one of the founders of Studio Ghibli ("The Borrower Arrietty", "Grave of the Fireflies", "Princess Monoke"…). The film-maker considers that the fabulous medieval intrigues - told through unbroken scenes - constitute a precursor of contemporary animation film making. The Ban Dainagon emaki tells the story of a political conspiracy involving one of the largest fires depicted in Japanese painting. The Bayeux Tapestry recounts the conquest of England by William the Conqueror. During the visit, visitors will be guided through the different narrative and portraiture techniques of the two cultures, revealing a surprising number of similarities in the portrayal of characters, attitudes and vegetation.
Beside the collotype from the Idemitsu Museum of Tokyo, several pieces will enrich this exceptional exhibition. These are loans from the prestigious collections of the Guimet Museum, the French National Library, the Cernuschi Museum, and archives from the CNC (National Centre of Cinematography and animation film making). Touch-screens will enable visitors to become familiar with the world of emaki. Thanks to a method of photographic reproduction, so precise that one can see the grain of the paper and the pigments, visitors will have the unique privilege to "walk" through the scenes of the Roll of Grand Councillor Ban and to virtually touch the Masterpiece.
Like the Bayeux Tapestry, it is a horizontal illustrated narrative. The reader unveils the tale as he unrolls the scroll from his right hand and rolls it in his left hand. Created for the elite, emaki depict legends or epic stories, religious or profane. Emaki are made with precious paper or silk, decorated with intricate gold illuminations and calligraphy.
