Over the years here on Needle ‘n Thread, I’ve written a bit about the Loreto Embroideries that are held by the Royal School of Needlework in the UK. They are fascinating embroidered panels depicting 12 titles of the Virgin Mary from the Litany of Loreto.
These 12 embroidered panels depicting illustrations of titles of the Virgin Mary in the Litany of Loreto are exquisite works of art in their own right. However, Ezio Anichini, the Italian illustrator behind them, was a prolific artist.
If you’ve not heard of Anichini and the Loreto Embroideries, take a look at this article, which includes a downloadable PDF of John Schaffer’s scholarly article on Anichini.
Now – the big news! – if you live in North America and you don’t have the opportunity or inclination to travel abroad, here’s some great news for enthusiasts who would like to see the Loreto embroideries and the artwork of Anichini in person. Ready?!
Through the efforts of John Shaffer in collaboration with the Marian Library at the University of Dayton, and with the generous cooperation of the Royal School of Needlework, two of the Loreto Embroidery panels will be visiting the US next year, as part of an exhibition on Anichini at the library.
If you can travel to Dayton, Ohio between April and August of next year, you’ll be able to see two of the Loreto embroidery panels in real life!
For me, the Anichini exhibition is an enticing enough reason to make my way to Ohio at some point. But to have the opportunity to see two of the Loreto Embroideries in person – well, that’s the clincher!
If you belong to an embroidery group or guild within travel distance of Ohio, I think it would be a marvelous outing for a group, too. It’s such a fabulous opportunity to see these exquisite embroidered panels in person, and who knows when we would have the opportunity to see them in the US again?
You can find preliminary information about next year’s Anichini exhibition here. The exhibition will be in the Marian Library Gallery at the Roesch Library at the University of Dayton from April 4 through August 26.
If you can make it, perhaps we’ll run into each other there. I hope we do!
I have loved these panels forever . Definitely a road trip for next year! Darcy
Wow! Thank you! We may plan on going.
Very exciting, I live in Dayton and will certainly go! UD’s library is wonderful.
Very exciting, I live in Dayton and will certainly go! UD’s library is wonderful.
Those drawings are so beautiful and elegant, and the embroideries are too. How big is each panel? I imagine them to be large like wall tapestries. I hope to go, but will probably only be able to see them in pictures. Thanks for sharing with us, Mary.
Hi, Sherry – no, they’re actually relatively small. The postcards are literally postcard size. The panels are much smaller than “wall size” – I can’t remember the dimensions off the top of my head, but probably the height is somewhere between 18 – 22″.
Dear Mary
Thats great news that two panels of the Loreto Embroideries are coming to the US, I do hope you have a chance to go and see them they are lovely. I went to the RSN in 2013 to have an overview of the RSN and in particular the Loreto Embroideries they are lovely and worth a visit. Thank for sharing with us the news of the Loreta Embroideries coming to the US I’m sure it will be a great visit.
Regards Anita Simmance
Dear Mary,
I saw these beautiful embroidered panels in Ely Cathedral here in England some time ago time ago. They are breathtakingly beautiful. As you look at them you. or perhaps I should say, I cannot even imagine how anyone created such exquisite works of art. I believe they were in a convent and were given to the R.S.N. for safe keeping.
Just to say a big thank you also for I have received my copy of “Opus Anglicanum” by Tanya Bentham, so exciting. Even if I don’t manage to actually create something which I hope I can, just studying the books content is fascinating. Best wishes. Margaret Allain.
How long are you going to be in Daytona ohio this summer. I live in Cincinnati
I’m not sure yet. I’ll probably only be there long enough to see the exhibit. I haven’t been able to work out any travel plans for the summer yet. I have a few obligations that keep me close to home, so it just depends on what I can work out. If I have a chance to linger in the area, I might try to do some kind of meet up at a coffee shop or something. If that type of thing materializes, I’ll post it here on the website! 🙂
Oh, Mary! Thank you for the in-depth newsletter detailing your visit to the Lareto Embroideries. Like you in Ohio, I spent a lot of time poring over your photos and following your critique. I know I’ll never see them in person, but thank you for such in-depth reporting! I understand better how good-work works. I feel like I had a short-course at the Royal School! The black-work is what I saw first. And my last impression is summed up in Photo Six, where I was granted an epiphany by the white lines inside the flowers. I was sure it was three-dimensional! …..If I try, I think I can make searching online for Lareto Embroideries an entire morning’s pastime.
Sorry I missed the first half of the zoom: I got to listen to 1/2 of the zoom on May 12 2022. What is the size of the stunning Loreto panels? thanks!
I measured 12.5” x 18.5” (I used my phone, so it may not be perfectly accurate, but I think it’s very close). Dr Kaye-Williams said they’re about 2 feet high, but I’m pretty sure they’re closer to 18.5”. Considering the detail in them, they are smaller than you’d think!