Fight in front of Florence
Aubusson tapestry woven by the Goubely-Gatien workshop.
With its partially faded selvedge.
1966.
A passionate enthusiast of mural art since 1937 (he participated in the International Exposition), Lagrange designed his first cartoons in 1945 and became one of the founding members of the APCT (Association for the Promotion of Tapestry). Initially expressionist (like Matégot or Tourlière), his cartoons (starting with his collaboration with Pierre Baudouin) evolved towards a stylization that culminated in the 1970s in cartoons composed of refined symbols in pure tones. Beyond his role in the revival of tapestry (and the associated public commissions), Lagrange was a professor at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts, a regular collaborator of Jacques Tati, a designer of monumental sets, and a recognized painter, close to Estève and Lapicque.
In the 1960s, the artist explored the medieval theme of battles and tournaments on large surfaces, in a stylized and geometric style, culminating in the “Homage to Paolo Uccello” (280 x 680 cm, a copy of which is kept at the Faculty of Sciences in Besançon).
Still working in a figurative style, Lagrange here depicts, in front of Florence, whose archetypal monuments are clearly visible (the Duomo, the bell tower of the Palazzo Vecchio, etc.), a battle scene in frieze form, clearly inspired by the paintings of Uccello, where lances, horses, and knights are intertwined. It is worth noting the mottled beige and brown background against which these figures stand out, a style unique to Lagrange and rarely used by his contemporaries.
Bibliography:
Exhibition catalog Lagrange tapestries, Galerie La demeure, 1968, no. 4 (reproduced)
; Exhibition catalog Aubusson tapestries, Galerie d'Art Municipale, Luxembourg, no. 4 in the catalog (not reproduced);
Robert Guinot, Jacques Lagrange, les couleurs de la vie, Lucien Souny publisher, 2005, no. 40, reproduced (dimensions 226 x 268 cm);
JJ and B. Wattel, Jacques Lagrange et ses toiles: peintures, tapisseries, cinéma, Editions Louvre Victoire, 2020
