Homage to Vivaldi
Aubusson tapestry woven by the Berthaut workshop.
With its signed label.
1963.
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 Tapestry Cartoonists and Painters), and soon became a professor at the National Higher School of Decorative Arts. The State commissions numerous cartoons, 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 Prefecture of Creuse, .... If Picart le Doux's conceptions are close to those of Lurçat, his sources of inspiration and themes are also, 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....
The theme of the seasons is a commonplace in the history of tapestry that the cartoonists of the 20th century have revived, with Lurçat at the forefront (cf. his Seasons tapestry commissioned by the State from 1939 onwards). Here, Seasons, Zodiac, Music (the title only) coexist: the work is a vast synthesis of different sources of inspiration for the artist. Chromatic range and specific attributes (the iconography is traditional) make it possible to follow the annual cycle. The seasons will also be woven 2 by 2, horizontally, in a smaller format (3 m²), and without reference to Vivaldi.
Bibliography:
Marthe Belle-Joufray, Jean Picart le Doux, Publications filmées d'art et d'histoire, 1966, ill. no. 19
Maurice Bruzeau, Jean Picart le Doux, Murs de soleil, Editions Cercle d'Art, 1972, No. 139
Exh. Cat. Jean Picart le Doux, tapisseries, Saint-Denis, Musée, 1976, ill.
Exh. Cat. Jean Picart le Doux, Boulogne sur Mer, bibliothèque municipale, 1978
Exh. Cat. Jean Picart le Doux, Paris, musée de la Poste, 1980, ill.
Exh. Cat. Jean Picart le Doux, Saint Jean d'Orbestier, Abbaye, 1992, ill.
