TOILE PEINTE

((French: painted linen), ) plural Toiles Peintes , large sheet of heavy, flexible fabric on which a tapestry cartoon (a full-sized preliminary study from which the finished tapestry is made) has been painted. Unlike cartoons drawn on paper, toiles peintes were intended to be hung as though they were finished tapestries. Most toiles peintes date from the 16th century in France. The finest collection of old toiles peintes belongs to the Cathedral of Reims.