The actors
Aubusson tapestry woven by the Legoueix workshop.
No. 4/6.
1959.
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 themes of music, theatre, and more specifically of the Commedia dell'Arte ("Italian Comedy", card from 1947) are omnipresent in Saint-Saëns: he respects the figures, Lelio and Isabelle, with their very particular drawings, not devoid of humor, in their traditional costumes.
Bibliography:
Exhibition catalog, Saint-Saëns, La Demeure gallery, 1970
; Exhibition catalog, Saint-Saëns, woven works, Aubusson, Departmental Museum of Tapestry, 1987;
Exhibition catalog, Marc Saint-Saëns, tapestries, 1935-1979, Angers, Jean Lurçat Museum and Contemporary Tapestry, 1997-1998
