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!
