La Mer et ses Lumières
Tapestry after a cartoon by Jean Lurçat (1892- 1966)
France, Aubusson, Picaud workshop
Woven in wool and cotton (warp in cotton, weft in wool)
Woven signature of the artist and the workshop
Bolduc
First edition in 1961, this piece is dates of 1965
The quotation which is visible at the top, in the middle of the tapestry, is taken from the first part of a poem by Saint-John Perse Pour fêter une enfance (written in 1907 and published in 1910 in the collection Eloges)
This 1965 tapestry corresponds to the year of his last journeys which "lead him to the new lands of Mexico and to the Greece of his youth. In spite of his deteriorating health, the colours and iconography of La Mer et ses Lumières prove that the artist's joy of life and exuberance remain intact.
Jean Lurçat was born in 1892 in Bruyère and died in 1966 in Saint Paul de Vence. Jean Lurçat started studying medicine but quickly abandoned this path. He meets Jean proved in Nancy, and then begins their collaboration. In 1912, he moves to Paris with his brother André (architect) and takes courses at the Colarossi Academy. There he met the great names of 20th century painting such as Henri Matisse, Paul Cézanne and Auguste Renoir. Jean Lurçat began his textile adventure with the small stitch before concentrating on tapestry.
Jean Lurçat's woven work is masterful. The artist is internationally known and his name is closely associated with the revival of French tapestry in the post-war years. He is the most important painter and cartoonist of the 20th century. In 1947, Lurçat became President of the Association of Tapestry Cardboard Painters. The A.P.C.T. groups together the artists who participated most effectively in the Renaissance of the Tapestry, that is to say, who understood the absolute necessity not only to re-adopt the primary language of this essentially mural art, but also to proceed at the same time with the reorganisation of the industry on which it depends. "(Text of presentation of the A.P.C.T.)