Berlin woolwork developed in Germany in the early 1800s as a new form of needlecraft in which embroiderers followed a pattern drawn out on a paper grid. As such, it played an interesting role in the modernisation and democratisation of embroidery: designs could be more widely disseminated and required far less technical ability for the embroiderer than traditional free-form embroidery.
By the mid-19th century, Berlin woolwork became celebrated for its particularly vivid colours—clear, bright shades, pure whites, and delicate pastels—with the development of synthetic aniline dyes.
This pair of designs evidence this luminosi, where the almost neon green conveys a modernity that belies the painting's age. The paper grids are printed by the Berlin pattern maker Z.A. Grünthal and T.P. Devrient, whilst the handpainting is the work of a member of the Leveson-Gower family of Bill Hill in Wokingham, Berkshire.
