The Redemption of Mankind c. 1887
phoebeannatraquair
minneapolisinstituteofart
textile
abstract painting
water colours
textile
handmade artwork painting
fluid art
acrylic on canvas
painting painterly
wall painting
watercolour bleed
watercolour illustration
watercolor
"The Redemption of Mankind," a vibrantly colored tapestry created by Phoebe Anna Traquair in 1887, embodies the artist's fascination with religious themes. Traquair, known for her intricate embroidery and use of symbolism, depicts a central scene of a Madonna and Child seated on a bull, signifying sacrifice and the Christian faith. The tapestry is divided into four sections, each featuring figures engaged in devotional acts, further emphasizing the overarching theme of redemption and the role of faith in the human experience.
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Phoebe Anna Traquair was born in Dublin, Ireland and moved to Edinburgh in 1873 where she built a flourishing career as an artist. Today she is recognized as the first professional woman artist of modern Scotland, and one of the first women admitted to the Scottish Royal Academy (1920). Traquair worked in a variety of media: embroidery, enamelwork, furniture decoration, easel painting, manuscript illumination, bookbinding, and mural decoration. The Redemption of Mankind is one of only twelve known embroideries designed and executed by Traquair. The subject of the proposed embroidery – Christian redemption – followed from themes developed in her first public mural project, the mortuary chapel of the Royal Hospital for Sick Children (1885-6). Traquair inked the embroidery design on the ground fabric and worked the stitches entirely on her own. All told, it took eighteen to twenty months to complete and overlapped with the painting of the Song School at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, a project which carried forth the themes of redemption and salvation.
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