A family from Creuse reconstructs a missing 25 m² piece of the Bayeux tapestry

For a year, the Guillot family, based in Aubusson, in the Creuse, has been working in its workshop on the reconstruction of a supposedly missing piece of the Bayeux tapestry, as part of Millennium 2027, a series of celebrations organized for the 1,000 years of William the Conqueror, reports HERE Normandy Monday May 25. Funded by the Normandy Region, this project should result in the creation of a new 25 square meter section of the famous medieval embroidery, before an exhibition at Westminster Abbey, then a final installation at Falaise Castle in December 2027.

According to some historians, the Bayeux tapestry, 69 meters long and dedicated to the conquest of England by William the Conqueror, is incomplete. They believe that the scene of the coronation of the famous Duke of Normandy at Westminster Abbey is notably missing. This is the scene on which the Guillot family workshop, based in Aubusson (Creuse), the historic capital of tapestry, is working. They won a call for tenders launched by the Normandy Region.

The work, carried out by the Guillot couple and their son Luc, is particularly meticulous. The family uses more than 300 different colored threads and produces approximately one square meter of tapestry per month. “With the 300 colors, we make mixtures, which can give between 1,000 and 2,000 color combinations“, explains Luc Guillot. “It’s very trying, because it hurts your eyes, you’re so focused, it’s so meticulous, that you’re happy when the day is over!“

The workshop was selected in particular for its mastery of traditional tapestry techniques, combined with a more contemporary approach. “Concretely, we try to add layers, textures and colors to create relief in the tapestry“, explain Luc and Marie Guillot. “It is a technique that gives the impression that the tapestry is different depending on whether you look at it from up close or from a distance. Like an illusion.“

The exact design of the new scene remains secret and will be revealed at the same time as the work. It was imagined by the artist Hélène Delprat, who selected the Guillot workshop to create this crowning achievement which she conceived as “more contemporary, less sober and more charged than the original tapestry“, details HERE Normandie.