Comparison: Night attack/Tapestry

 The comparison post I chose to write about are the Bayeux Tapestry and the Night attack on the Sanjô Palace.  




The Bayeux Tapestry is a long piece that is 20 inches high and roughly 230 feet long.  The tapestry is a commemoration of the struggle for the throne of England between William who was the Duke of Normandy and Harold, the Earl of Wessex.  The tapestry has 75 scenes that depict the events of that lead up to the Norman conquest in 1066.  The end of the tapestry is missing but is believed that the ending shows the coronation of William as the King of England.  Though this is called a tapestry it is not a true tapestry as the images are more embroidered using wool and yarn than being woven into the cloth.  The main thing to know about the tapestry is that it is a close representation of the actions made through the times of war.





The Night attack on the Sanjo Palace is an art piece displayed across scrolls called emaki.  This piece was made during the Kamakura period and is described as an action-packed otoko-e, “men’s painting.”  The piece was made to be opened across multiple scrolls for close viewing from right to left.  The piece of art is made to show individuality in each figure shown, giving the piece such significance as those who study the way of art.  The palace being shown in this piece is was home to the former Emperor Go-Shrakawa. 

 

Both art works are used to portray war in two very different ways.  The first piece on a long tapestry is used to show all the event at the beginning to the end of the war with everything in between as a glimpse of what happened.  Whereas the artwork of the Night attack is purposely visually more in depth.  What really sets these pieces apart is that the amount of detail.  I believe that the Night attack piece visually described the intensity and horror people faced while also showing anger, leadership, anguish and so much more through the unique visuals.  The Tapestry uses length to be able to show the actions that lead to the coronation of William.   


(Images would not load, please view on websites.)

Cite this page as: Dr. Hannah Sigur, "Night Attack on the Sanjô Palace," in Smarthistory, April 1, 2016, accessed October 25, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/night-attack-on-the-sanjo-palace/.

Cite this page as: Dr. Kristine Tanton, "The Bayeux Tapestry," in Smarthistory, August 8, 2015, accessed October 25, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/the-bayeux-tapestry/.

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