Bouquet d’anniversaire (Birthday bouquet)
Tapestry woven by the Braquenié workshop.
1969.
Van Vlasselaer (1907-1982) is known for having created numerous monumental wall paintings as well as stain glass windows. From 1950 onwards he created tapestry cartoons inspired by scenes of everyday life, traditional Flemish folklore and natural subjects in keeping with the aesthetic of the group “Forces Murales”. He evolved from the figurative of his early work towards dense designs incorporating sharp-edged foliage laid out against geometrically inspired backgrounds influenced by Cubism.
“From 1969 onwards, his style became ever more flamboyant. One of the most remarkable examples is without doubt “Bouquet d’anniversaire”… on a monumental scale… Each detail is strikingly original. The foliage and the blossoms are rendered in such a way to take them beyond their natural condition in a fantastical style that still retains a certain rigour…” (R. Avermaete, van Vlasselaer Tapisseries, p.97)
Bibliography :
R. Avermaete, van Vlasselaer Tapisseries, Editions Arcade, 1973, ill. p.88
