The verveux (variant)
Tapestry probably from Aubusson.
Circa 1947.
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.
“The verveux”, a large tapestry of 203 x 285 cm woven at Tabard (and whose cartoon is preserved at the Aubusson Tapestry Museum) is characteristic of Lagrange's first vein: by its theme (the realistic anachronism of old trades exercised by small people), by its treatment, expressionist. Our cartoon takes up this theme, on a smaller scale, with a single character, and a different chromatic range, certain details remaining: the oil lamp, the variegated fish on the ground…
Bibliography :
Cat. Exp. Lagrange, Angers, Jean Lurçat Museum and contemporary tapestry, 1987
Robert Guinot, Jacques Lagrange, the colors of life, Lucien Souny publisher, 2005
J.J. and B. Wattel, Jacques Lagrange and his canvases: paintings, tapestries, cinema, Editions Louvre Victoire, 2020
