The trawl
Aubusson tapestry woven by the Berthaut workshop.
With its label signed.
1952.
Jean Picart le Doux is one of the great animators of the revival of tapestry. His beginnings in the field date back to 1943: he then created cartoons for the liner “la Marseillaise”. Close to Lurçat, whose theories he espouses (limited tones, numbered cartoons,…), he is a founding member of the A.P.C.T. (Association of Painter-Cartoonists of Tapestry), and soon a professor at the National Higher School of Decorative Arts. The State commissions numerous cartoons from him, most of which are woven in Aubusson, and some at the Gobelins: the most spectacular ones will be for the University of Caen, the Mans Theatre, the France liner or the Creuse Prefecture,…. If Picart le Doux's conceptions are close to those of Lurçat, his sources of inspiration and themes are too, but in a more decorative than symbolic register, where stars (the sun, the moon, the stars…), elements, nature (wheat, vine, fish, birds…), man, and texts coexist,….
“One of the most famous tapestries by Picart le Doux: the organization is very tight and the ample curves of the net emphasize the party of a broad and simple writing.” : Maurice Bruzeau expresses himself in the notice he devotes to this tapestry (n°37 of his work). “The Trawl” joins the omnipresent marine themes of the artist, particularly in those years: “Sea God”, “The Siren” “The Dolphin”, “Seafood”, “Starfish”, in a range of muted colors based on khaki and silver gray. Here, the treatment is more documentary (except for the presence of the trident): it is fishing, as seen by Picart le Doux.
Bibliography:
Léon Moussinac, Jean Picart le Doux, Editions Cercle d'art, 1964 (reproduced Pl.10)
Marthe Belle-Jouffray, Jean Picart le Doux, Film Publications of Art and History, 1966, reproduced n°4
Exhibition Catalog, Tribute to Jean Picart le Doux, Rochechouart Artistic and Literary Center, 1968 (reproduced)
Maurice Bruzeau, Jean Picart le Doux, Walls of the Sun, Editions Cercle d'art 1972
Exhibition Catalog Jean Picart le Doux, Paris, Museum of the Post, 1980 (reproduced)
Exhibition Catalog Picart le Doux, Château d'Olonne, 1992, reproduced
