Screenshot of a France Inter video
David Hockney is considered one of the greatest living painters. And he is English, which makes his voice all the more valuable when he speaks about the Bayeux Tapestry, as he did last Wednesday in The Independent, where he strongly opposes its transfer to London to be exhibited at the British Museum.
Clearly, the artist knows the subject. He therefore recalls most of the arguments, indisputable, that make this operation a « madness »/
He summarises the risks faced by the work: « tearing, stitch loss and distortion of the fabric ». He reminds that « Even minor mishandling could cause irreversible damage ». To these threats, he adds, rightly: « sudden changes in temperature, humidity or light exposure can lead to fibre contraction or expansion or colour fading », and notes that each stage is risky. He also considers — and here again he is right — « the most unlikely risks »: « fire, accident or activist protests ». But unlikely does not mean zero.
For David Hockney: « Any damage would be irreversible, and even successful transport could shorten the tapestry’s lifespan ».
And for what purpose? « The vanity of a museum which wants to boast of the number of visitors. Is it really worth it? I think not ».
On the question of insurance (800 million pounds), again David Hockney says nothing different from what we wrote: « That is meaningless. It is priceless ». Not to mention, which he does not recall, that this “insurance” does not cover damage caused by the intrinsic nature of the work, its fragility…
And he concludes: « it is now safe and open to anyone to see it. Why does a London museum, which prides itself on conserving and preserving great art, want to gamble on the survival of the most important art image of scale in Europe? It is madness. I am not afraid to speak up for art. It is something that has defined my life for more than eight decades. Love life. Use two eyes. ».
Faced with this, the British Museum’s reaction has been the same since the beginning of the affair: miserable. Its conservation teams are experienced, they know how to care for this type of object, move along, nothing to see. Yet they should be the first, as professionals, to recognise what is widely documented: there is nothing in the world equivalent in size, age, heritage importance, or fragility. All specialists who have worked on this piece say the same and confirm that its transport and exhibition in London carry enormous risks. If anything happens to this work — which is unfortunately the most likely — they will bear the same responsibility as the French authorities, at the forefront of whom is the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, in this disaster.
David Hockney’s stance, which is attracting much attention, gives hope of a wake-up call across the Channel. In the meantime, it is still possible, and even desirable, to sign our petition.