In the image of sacred embroidery that had to arouse wonder, secular work, by its luxurious character, had a prestigious role. It would be unjust, however, not to talk about the other side of this splendor. In fact, while the nobles sparkled brilliantly and while Henry IV lodged his favourite artists in the big gallery of the Louvre, the poorly paid trainee embroiders were saddled with the nickname "frogs", leaving one to think that water was their only beverage. Embroidery would long remain the prerogative of the privileged classes, and one would have to wait for the seventeenth century to see it gain entry into more modest homes.

The century of Louis XIV - in the classical period, French embroidery became the auxiliary of interior decoration. Several embroiders of the court elaborated ambitious programs, while others worked at Gobelins with tapestry workers. The sparkling fabrics produced never seemed sumptuous enough for the monarch, so they were further enhanced, by decorating wall hangings and curtains, armchairs and sofas, coaches and saddle-cloth. The preference for flowers was always expressed; they continued to be sourced from tropical countries to provide new motifs to the artists.
Du Cerceau, Lebrun, Berain, then Salle, Bony, Dugourc would give an architectural character to the creations of the seventeenth century. They invented ornaments fabricated in large shapes, with an opulent flora and fauna - flourish of acanthus leaves and crowns of foliage, exotic fruits and flowers, monkeys, squirrels -, often brightened up with a skilful composition of symbolic motifs: trophies, helmets, swords, quivers, arrows, oriflammes and trumpets of victory, created using multi-coloured silks, precious stones, chiseled silver plates and relief embroideries.

In the post-death inventories, which are rich sources of information for historians, amazing descriptions can be found. Ernest Lefébure refers to the caryatids of the king's apartment worked in gold, which measured around fifteen feet in height.

The whole of Europe, dazzled by the luxury displayed at Versailles, followed the fashion of the French court. The collection of royal clothing, assembled at the castle of Rosenborg in Copenhagen, provided magnificent specimens of seventeenth century embroidered costumes. Christian IV spent considerable amounts on the workers of Copenhagen every year. The black velvet dress of Frederick III, created in 1648, is a beautiful example of Danish work, with its embroidered borders, highlighted with thin cords of gold, silver and silk.

The magnificence of the Sun-King however remains unparalleled. Ceremonies, and festivals, masquerades, costumes for the Opera, provided jobs for the entire body of embroiders. The Gazette of 7th December 1669 described the king " dressed in golden brocade, covered with so many diamonds that it seemed as though he was surrounded by light". This apparel remained the privilege of Louis XIV, his entourage not being authorized for so much splendour. The monarch was also the inventor of " patented body stocking", a blue outfit lined with red and embroidered with a magnificent motif in gold and silver, worn solely by a carefully selected elite. Feminine costumes were generally not so over-ornate as those of men. Madame de Sevigny described a robe of Madame de Montespan that was abundant with an excessive luxury, less appreciated though than the details of the lingerie in cutwork or lace.

Embroidery, a pastime art - The society of the sixteenth century gave birth to the phenomenon of pattern books. In Paris, Dominique de Sera published The Book of lingerie with patterns by Jean Cousin and, in 1587, Frederick Vinciolo brought out a book on the same subject, an appropriate homage to Catherine de Medecis, who adored fine lingerie. The gardener of Henry III, Jean Robin, organized on his behalf a garden and greenhouses where European and exotic plants of all kinds were grown. (This establishment would later become the present Botanical Garden). A fruitful collaboration was therefore established between the wise horticulturist and the royal embroider, Pierre Valet, who supplied to the women of the court, motifs and engravings serving as patterns for works created in silk and gold. In 1608, they published together "Le Jardin du Roy" (The King's Garden), dedicated to Queen Marie of Medecis, containing 75 pictures of plants. Other embroiders and publishers took up this idea and published new florilegia, to satisfy the interest of botanists and artisans.

The signature of famous artists, picked out from the books published between the sixteenth and the eighteenth centuries, shows that the demarcation between the arts was not as strict as nowadays. Then, this production would diminish significantly, rivaled in a way by the Court artists, appointed by the king and having the right to carry the sword. The pattern of these ornamentists were considerably in vogue and participated in the homogeneity of the style of the period, just as the fashion notes of today. The quality and rigour of the compositions are such that these motifs of the eighteenth century still are a source of inspiration today.

The first patterns, intended not only for the professionals of embroidery, but also a larger public, appeared in Lady Magazine in 1770. The idea of a specialized magazine would develop later; these magazines first suggested floral ornaments for costumes, then at the end of the nineteenth century, superimposed patterns, suggesting a motif for a collar, place mat and a cushion were presented on the same page. It is the triumph of "ladies' works". Admittedly, the results were more modest than those of the professionals, but the motivation of these embroiders was the same: embellish their costumes and life style. Art embroidery, which was the prerogative of monks, artisans and professionals therefore transformed itself through the centuries, into a leisure art. The Encyclopedia of ladies' works, published in Mulhouse in 1886 by the famous Dollfus-Mieg House, would later become the Bible of these women.

The eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries - The court continued to set the tone under the Regency and under Louis XV, embroideries remained elegant, especially those of men's clothing. The French Union of costume arts, at the Museum of Fashion in Paris, has numerous examples of delicately decorated outfits and waistcoats, which figure among the best productions of the period. Embroidered on a single piece of fabric with their matching buttons, these waistcoats were often delivered uncut to the buyer who took care of the tailoring. The prints of the East India Company though banned for import, served as patterns to the workers of the eighteenth century; floral motifs, cut out in brocaded tissues, were then appliqued on different materials and fixed with embroidery.
During this period, weavers and embroiders worked in unison. The refinement of the works demanded more precision, especially in the execution of details. The great lovers of embroidery did not satisfy themselves with just European creations: they sent their costumes to be decorated to the embroiders of China. Among the most utilized material figured flat and twisted silk, purl, chenille yarn; sometimes very narrow ribbons were introduced in these pieces, like those that served as bookmarks in books. Gold and silver were used in the form of threads, as well as grains, beads, sequins, straw covers, shirring, curls, chains and braids.

Under Louis XVI, French costumes continued to have borders and small repeating patterns. The echo of " return to the nature ", suggested by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, resonated in the pockets and facings. Floral garlands, village scenes and tiny insects decorated men's waistcoats. As for the dresses, they were adorned with tulips, roses, carnations and ribbons of pastel shades, which framed medallions, were linked to garlands, or knotted in trophies, while the shirring and ruches invaded the surface of skirts. Fine embroidered batistes were utilized for negligees as well as sumptuous outfits.
Embroidered muslins and shawls were worn after the Revolution, in all the regions of France.

In the field of interior decoration, a novelty was then appreciated: woolen embroidery on canvas. Sofas, love seats or confidents, most of the seats created during this period were covered with woven or finely embroidered tapestry; silk was mixed with figures created finer than the borders, and in these compositions appeared monkeys, squirrels and mannered pastorals. Not requiring profound technical knowledge, needlepoint tapestry was done so easily that the ladies of the court devoted themselves to this hobby, creating by themselves pieces for their apartments.

Under the Directory, mostly official costumes were decorated. Performances and national festivals lent the occasion to create new clothes, the exterior and lining of which were richly bedecked. Napoleon I, who wished to stimulate the economy, proved to be the chief promoter of these uniforms. Ministers, members of the State Institutions, people's representatives and administrators were given a dress appropriate to their post and decorated using the technique of metallic embroidery. At the same time, on the white lawns and the fine muslins of women's clothing blossomed cutwork, especially satin stitch.

Under the Consulate and the Empire, ceremonial costumes of the dignitaries were always as sumptuous. On the new patterns figured bees, laurels, olive and oak branches. It was then the certain triumph of metallic embroidery: the costumes of the court were spangled with them and the robes were brocaded in gold so much so that it was sometimes difficult to distinguish the colour! During the Restoration, embroideries became heavier, as seen in the luxurious costumes of the coronation of Charles X, one of the last great official ceremonies of the royalty. The historical Museum of Fabrics in Lyon preserves samples of these ornaments that constituted a veritable catalogue of the materials used: polychrome glass jewelry, silks, metals, pearls, and mother-of-pearl.

Apart from its official character, the usage of embroidery extended to all classes of the society. It was found on table linen, bed linen, trousseau items, children's lingerie, costume accessories and even objects decorating the house: cutwork of the Directory robe was imposed in the whole of Europe. These works produced in large quantities right from the end of the eighteenth century in England and Scotland would be replaced gradually by simpler hemstitches, as in broderie anglaise. In the nineteenth century, Switzerland distinguished itself by its workshops on its cutwork, where flower motifs were created with an infinite delicacy, sometimes accompanied by certain parts lightly in relief. Mechanized production at the end of the nineteenth century saw the spread of the fashion of machine-made work on tulle. These products, though inexpensive, were very good imitations of the Lille, Chantilly and Brussels lace, with appliques of lawn or organdy. Embroidered tulles were manufactures in Brittany, Coggeshall in England and Limerick and Carrickmacross in Ireland.

Embroidered clothing of the twentieth century - The beginning of the twentieth century marked the transformation of women's clothing. Charles Frederick Worth, a precursor of high fashion, began, from 1858 onwards, to create patterns for an upper-crust clientele. He was followed by designers like Doucet and Paquin. The Callot sisters rivaled in ingenuity to use fine materials but it was actually Paul Poiret who, after a training at Worth's, would transform the female silhouette, by imposing a style born of his imagination: muslin tunics embroidered with pearls and lined with fur, covering iridescent tulles, decorated with a shower of gold, jet or sequins. Embroidery was used for daily wear like evening gowns or evening wear. André Bakst would create ballet dresses spangled with ornaments on which cabochons, sequins and stones combined with laces, braids and trims in the image of the oriental current that had swept fashion in the beginning of the century. Russian Ballets known to Parisians from 1909, also stimulated the imagination of designers and embroiders. The line of women's clothing was simplified: the sinuous silhouette of the beginning of the century became straight; sequins and pearls often covered the entire surface of straight fur; even the plant arabesques of the Art Nouveau made way for circles, squares and pyramids of Art Deco.

Sonia Delaunay adapted her pictorial researches to women's clothing. She made in 1925 for Gloria Swanson, famous star of mute films, a " simultaneous" coat in woolen embroidery, with geometrical designs.

During this period and later in the century, depending on the fluctuations and trends of fashion, great designers like Lelong, Lanvin, Schiaparelli had embroidery workshops. More recently, Courreges and Paco Rabanne constructed certain patterns, by using giant sequins and modules of metal or plastic that covered the dress completely till it sometimes gave the appearance of armour.
Embroidery remains a technique by itself in the world of high fashion; created in workshops, like those of Rebe or Lesage, it should be part of the pattern of the garment, provided by the creators. At present, most embroidered items, machine-made, are manufactured by a particular industry.

Embroidery, decorative art - At the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century, renowned artists took a close interest in the technique of embroidery. Thus, English artist William Morris suggested a composition of "baroque" trends meant to decorate a drape embroidered with silk, now in the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The Kunstindutrie Museum of Copenhagen preserves a needlepoint tapestry by the sculptor Maillol, representing a concert and made with polychrome wool, silks and gold and silver wire.

Contemporary research has led to original creations in the form of drapes, often calling for techniques of appliqué embroidery. Even reusable materials are used: wood or metal shavings, springs, industrial waste, bits of glass or wood, pebbles, stones. These elements confer the appeal of uniqueness on the pieces created. As a reaction to the sumptuous embroideries of yesteryear, skilful and meticulous works, the stitches are going to attain impressive dimensions; we will see a collection of linen, cotton and ticking fabrics ; we will even go as far as sticking woolen couchings that can be fixed by stitching them on a machine. At the same time, the "mini-textiles" are the order of the day: we can thus express ourselves using a technique quite slow to implement, but to sell at affordable prices.

Classic or machine-made, embroidery is, by itself, a means of expression. Today, we use it for the restoration of old works, furnishing and household linen, fashion designing and luxury prêt-à-porter, uniforms and stage costumes.

Since a few years, we have been observing a revival of interest, from the entire public, in ladies' works. Being part of hobbies and not constraints, they correspond above all to a desire to succeed in a job freely chosen from the pages of specialist magazines. If embroidery in Europe has long been an exclusive prerogative of men, today it symbolizes an activity that is more feminine; it remains a means to develop taste in matters of decoration and to promote, in the best of cases, the artistic trends of the moment.

The time of ornamentist has certainly evolved, but the search for a perfect composition and design goes on. The works of patient dilettante embroiders will continue to embellish our daily life.

Source: "Autour du fil", encyclopedia of textile arts, Fogtdal Editions, Paris, 1989, volume 3.