THE ART OF WAR PART 1

NO, I’M BEING MUCH MORE LITERAL than Sun Tzu’s 5th-century B.C. military treatise of this title. I’m prompted by recent mention of three notable works of art: the visit of the Bayeux Tapestry back to its country of origin (and its topic: the 1066 Norman Conquest); the celebration of Washington Crossing the Delaware depicting his Continental Army’s victory on December 25-26, 1776; and the approaching 90th anniversary of Picasso’s Guernica depicting the Nazi bombing of this city in Spain’s Basque region. Here, in Parts 1 and 2 today and tomorrow, are tidbits gleaned about each from a variety of news and Internet sources.

Bayeux Tapestry, 1070s. Wikipedia describes, “The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth nearly 70 metres (230 feet) long and 50 centimetres (20 inches) tall that depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William, Duke of Normandy, challenging Harold II, King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings.” 

Techincally, Not a Tapestry. Wikipedia continues, “The cloth consists of 58 scenes, all with Medieval Latin tituli, embroidered on linen with coloured woollen yarns. It is likely that it was commissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, William’s half-brother, and made for him in England in the 1070s…. The designs on the Bayeux Tapestry are embroidered rather than in a tapestry weave, so it does not meet narrower definitions of a tapestry.”

A Complex History. First reference to this work of art came in 1476, listed in the Bayeux Cathedral inventory. It survived the Huguenots sack in 1562, and a next reference came in 1774. Wikipedia recounts, “Antoine Lancelot sent a report to the Académie Royale des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres concerning a sketch he had received about a work concerning William the Conqueror. He had no idea where or what the original was, although he suggested it could have been a tapestry.” 

The Bayeux Tapestry barely survived the French Revolution (it was nearly sacrificed as covering for military wagons) and hid out during the Franco-Prussian War.

Himmler, the Gestapo, Bletchley Park. Wikipedia brings matters more or less up to date: “On 27 June 1944 the Gestapo took the tapestry to the Louvre, and on 18 August, three days before the Wehrmacht withdrew from Paris, Himmler sent a message (intercepted by Bletchley Park) ordering it to be taken to ‘a place of safety,’ thought to be Berlin. It was only on 22 August that the SS attempted to take possession of the tapestry, by which time the Louvre was again in French hands. After the liberation of Paris, on 25 August, the tapestry was again put on public display in the Louvre, and in 1945 it was returned to Bayeux, where it is exhibited at the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux.”

The Bayeux’s Traveling Gear.  Katie Razzall, Culture and Media Editor, The British Museum, recounts, “Bayeux Tapestry Arrives in the U.K. For First Time in 900 Years Under Police Guard,” BBC, July 9, 2026. 

Katie Razzall describes, “To ensure it travelled safely – and without damage—the folding stand, which the tapestry has been kept on since it was taken down from display in Bayeux last year, was put inside a crate, with temperature and humidity regulation. That crate was then placed into an outer cage, in which metal springs acted as shock absorbers to protect it from bumps in the road.”

“The work travelled across the Channel on the Eurotunnel before making its way to central London in the dead of night. The heavy-looking crate, encased in an aluminium frame, was lowered out of the lorry in front of a select crowd including the French ambassador to the UK and the director of the British Museum.”

Its British Museum Visit. The tapestry will be on display from September 10, 2026 to July 11, 2027.  Wikipedia observes, “Tickets for the first four months of the exhibition… sold out within 24 hours, with more than 80,000 people queuing online.”

Furthermore…. By the way, Jonathan Jones describes counter offerings to the Bayeux Tapestry’s £33/40 minutes: “Never Mind The Bayeux! Here’s Some Other Great Medieval Art—And It’s Free,” The Guardian, June 30, 2026. 

And, altogether different, there’s Jim’ll Paint It, responding to “Please could you paint a Friday night at pub kicking out time, with all the fights, kebabs, and throwing up in gutters, but in the style of the Bayeux Tapestry?”

Tomorrow in Part 2, we’ll discuss two other works of art, Washington Crossing the Delaware and Guernica, each with wartime tales to tell. ds 

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2026