Suburb
Aubusson tapestry woven in the Goubely workshop.
With its signed ribbon.
1945.
Enthusiastic about mural art from 1937 onwards (he participated in the International Exhibition), Lagrange drew his first cartoons in 1945, and became one of the founding members of the A.P.C.T. Initially expressionist (like Matégot or Tourlière), his cartoons (from his collaboration with Pierre Baudouin) evolved towards a stylization that resulted in the 1970s in cartoons made of purified signs in pure tones. Moreover, beyond his role in the revival of tapestry (and related public commissions), Lagrange was a Professor at the National School of Fine Arts, but also a regular collaborator of Jacques Tati, a designer of monumental sets, and finally a recognized painter-artist, close to Estève or Lapicque.
“Banlieue”, ma première tapisserie tissée à Aubusson, raconte le spectacle des cardeurs de matelas faisant voler la laine dans les rues avec une curieuse machine”explique l’artiste. A ses débuts, Lagrange aborde, dans une veine réaliste, expressionniste même, les thèmes de la banlieue, des métiers (amusante mise en abyme sur le travail de la laine), de la vie quotidienne (cf. Guignebert “le marché aux puces”, contemporain) dans une veine aux antipodes de la cosmogonie de Lurçat. La tapisserie figure à l’exposition de 1946, et 2 exemplaires sont conserves dans des collections publiques, au Musée de la-Chaux-de -Fonds, et à celui du Pays d’Ussel.
Bibliography :
Collective, Wall and wool, Editions Pierre Tisné, 1946, ill. n°58
Madeleine Jarry, Tapestry, art of the 20th century, Office du livre, 1974, ill. n°69
Cat. Exp. Lagrange, Angers, Jean Lurçat Museum and contemporary tapestry, 1987, reproduced p.16-17
Cat. Exp. Jean Lurçat, companions of the road and considerable passersby, Felletin, Castle Church, 1992, reproduced p.29
Robert Guinot, Jacques Lagrange, the colors of life, Lucien Souny publisher, 2005, n°28, reproduced
Gérard Denizeau, Denise Majorel, a life for tapestry, Aubusson, Departmental Museum of Tapestry, reproduced p.73
J.J. and B. Wattel, Jacques Lagrange and his canvases: paintings, tapestries, cinema, Editions Louvre Victoire, 2020, reproduced p.33, 70-71
