Ode to God's Creation in Notre Dame de Paris

In the spirit of Laudato Si', and to link in with the UN Climate talks in Paris, the city's Notre Dame Cathedral is exhibiting tapestries by Benedictine monk Dom Robert (1907-1997) from En Calcat abbey, near Toulouse.

Six sumptuous tapestries on the theme 'Ode to Nature' are on display in the nave until 2 February 2016. They come from public and private collections, and focus exclusively on the natural world. The tapestries, among the most iconic and larger sizes produced by Dom Robert, are centred on his lifetime of observation of the flora and fauna around him. He was particularly fascinated by umbels, a flat-topped or rounded flower cluster in which the individual flower stalks arise from about the same point. Stylised flora and fauna combine in extrovert exuberance, where the influence of mediaeval tapestry can be clearly recognised.

Dom Robert is one of the best known tapestry artists of the 20th century. He had a great love for nature and many of his works are inspired by the fields and wide open natural spaces he encountered during his travels, which included a 10-year period at Buckfast Abbey in England. He once said, "Nature is the true reality".

Notre Dame French Church in London displays behind its altar his tapestry, 'Paradise on Earth' which shows Mary surrounded by the richness of God's Creation.

Link to view the Notre Dame, Paris tapestries:
www.pelerin.com/L-actualite-autrement/Les-enjeux-de-l-ecologie/La-conference-sur-le-climat-de-Paris-un-rendez-vous-pour-l-humanite/L-ode-a-la-creation-de-Dom-Robert-a-Notre-Dame-de-Paris