Marc Saint-Saëns

Tapestry, probably from Aubusson.
1947.

Lurçat approached Saint-Saëns, initially a fresco painter, as early as 1940. During the war, Saint-Saëns produced his first allegorical masterpieces, tapestries of indignation, struggle, and resistance: “The Foolish Virgins,” “Theseus and the Minotaur.” After the war, he naturally joined Lurçat, whose convictions he shared (regarding numbered cartoons and limited tones, the specific style required for tapestry, etc.), within the APCT (Association of Tapestry Cartoon Painters). His world, where the elongated, stretched human figure holds considerable prominence (especially compared to the role it plays in the work of his contemporaries Lurçat or Picart le Doux), revolves around traditional themes: woman, the Commedia dell'arte, Greek myths, etc., all sublimated by the brilliance of the colors and the simplification of the layout. In the 1960s, he would later move towards more lyrical, almost abstract designs, dominated by cosmic elements and forces.

"The Garden of Love", an evocative allegory of the earthly Paradise sometimes illustrated in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, testifies to the classical references of Saint-Saëns who, in the same year, conceived "Orpheus" or "The Italian Comedy": theatre, ancient myths or biblical references (one also thinks of "The Foolish Virgins") were then omnipresent sources of inspiration.

Bibliography:
Exhibition catalog: Saint-Saëns, woven works, Aubusson, Musée départemental de la Tapisserie, 1987;
Exhibition catalog: Marc Saint-Saëns, tapestries, 1935-1979, Angers, Musée Jean Lurçat et de la Tapisserie Contemporaine, 1997-1998