Art, not a trade : a journey through time

PHOTOGRAPHY Vinicio Tassani

A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME

INTRODUCTION An exciting and unique journey through time in the name of tradition.

THE RECOVERY THE WOMEN PROTAGONISTS IN THE TEXTILE WORKSHOP Inspired by the women’s tradition of producing the necessary materials at home and textiles for the household, she sought out all the Umbrian traditional designs and in 1921 founded the workshop/school dedicated to the production of high-quality artistic textiles for the home.

Ever since, the passion for the art of hand-weaveing on antique wooden looms has been passed on from mother to daughter with each generation, personalizing the production according to her particular vocation and professional studies.

Today, after four generations, the Workshop Giuditta Brozzetti is one of the few remaining atelier of hand-weaving on antique “Jacquard” frames in Italy: for its unique characteristics, didactic interest and propaedeutical importance, in 2004 it was honored with inclusion in Sistema Museale dell’Umbria.

THE HAND-WEAVING TECHNIQUES Medieval Perugia-style altar cloths with their typical decorative motifs are produced on the nineteenthcentury jacquard looms. They reproduce are found on paintings in the tombs and in the decorations on Etruscan pottery and also of the “Perugian tablecloths” strong point of the great Middlre Age textile tradition in Perugia. The “Perugian tablecloths” were used as altar cloths in Middle Age Churches in central Italy at the end of the 12th century.

Their importance as vestments is proved by the number of times they appear in the paintings of the greatest 14th and 15th century painters, from Simone Martini to Pietro Lorenzetti and from Giotto to the Ghirlandaio, and to Leonardo da Vinci.

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LOCATION CHIESA DI SAN FRANCESCO DELLE DONNE At the beginning of the thirteenth century, the area called “La Conca” (The Little Valley), was not yet circumscrived by the walls that we see today; it consisted of a rocky terrain, a part of wich was farmed with vineyards and olive orchards.

And it was right here in the small and silent Little Vally, that Saint Francis, during the time of his preaching in Perugia, erected a small place of prayer where he and his disciples lived. We can date the building of this small convent around the year 1212; we are therefore talking about one of the first, and most ancient, Franciscan dwellings in Italy. The name, Women’s Church of Saint Francis, stems from the fact that since 1252 -when the Church of Saint Francis in the Field was built- the convent was passed on from the Franciscan monks to the Benedictine Sisters of Sant’Angelo del Renajo.

Because of its location -just outside the city walls- the monastery was abandoned several times, during wars or in times when the fear of war was high. In 1810 the monastery, along with other ones, was officially suppressed, but only in 1815 it was definitely closed down; in 1821 it became an institute of education for poor girls. Among the non-religious uses of the facility there were up to 300 girls employed there who came from the “commoner” families in the town of Perugia.

The workshop produced unbleached silk of excellent quality; it received awards in national and international exhibits.

In 1925 a company of ceramics “La Salamandra” (The Salamander) made its headquarters there and continued its activity until the 1950s. It is obvious that, even at a glance, we see the great importance that the women and the feminine element have had in the tormented history of the convent. Thus we see that the name of Women’s Church of Saint Francis is not at all a fortuitous choice.

The workshop “Giuditta Brozzetti” continues in the footsteps of this long, feminine tradition, producting precious handmade cloths, using ancient, hand-operated looms that recapture medieval patterns and designs, continuing the path started centuries ago by Benedictine nuns.

The entire process to create “pieces of Art” is everything but quick and easy; time, patience, knowledge and love are the main ingredients to arrive to the final creation. The practical steps consist in warping, knotting, setting up the weaving cards and the shuttles, and then effectively weaving.

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WARPING During the warping process cones of yarn are placed onto a rack called a creel.

The yarn is then tensed and spaced out through a leasing reed that separates the yearn threads and keeps them in the correct order before being wound onto a warping ball.

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KNOTTING In order to keep a continuous length of yarn, the threads of both cops are joined together. To do so, the last meter of the near-to-finish cop is left untouched, so that each thread can be tied in a knot with the new cop’s yarn.

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CARD WEAVING PREPARATION AND SET UP The Jacquard machines are considered the first computers in the world because their cards use a binary system.

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SETTING UP THE SHUTTLES The process now is mostly done with industrial machines but until a few decades ago, women used to prepare the bobbins by hand - a long and tiring work. Bobbing are then put on shuttle that will be used on the looms.

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THE WEAVING AND THE LOOM

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STORY IS CLOSING AND SOME PRODUCTS, REAL ARTISTIC CREATIONS, HAVE TO BE SHOWN

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ALL PHOTOGRAPHS PUBLISHED IN THIS BOOK "ART, NOT A TRADE: A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME" HAVE BEEN PERMITTED BY VINICIO TASSANI AND ARE PROTECTED UNDER INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW. IT IS FORBIDDEN TO COPY THEM OR RESEND IN ANY OTHER FORM WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR. ALL TRADEMARKS, GRAPHIC DESIGNS, LOGOS, NAMES AND OTHER DATA PUBLISHED IN THE MAGAZINE ARE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT AND BELONG TO THEIR AUTHORS. ALL COPYRIGHTS FOR PHOTOS BELONG TO MARCELLO MACHELLI.

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FULL PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK : 104 pages

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Museo Laboratorio Giuditta Brozzetti Marta Cucchia email@brozzetti.com www.brozzetti.com Telephone: +39 07540236 Via Tiberio Berardi, 5/6 06123 Perugia Italy

www.viniciotassani.it