Marc Saint-Saëns

Aubusson tapestry woven by the Tabard workshop.
With its label signed by the artist.
1961.

Lurçat approached Saint-Saëns, initially a fresco painter, from 1940 onwards. And, during the war, he produced his first allegorical masterpieces, tapestries of indignation, combat, and resistance: "the Foolish Virgins", "Theseus and the Minotaur". After the war, naturally, he joined Lurçat, with whom he shared convictions (on numbered cartoons and counted tones, on the specific writing required for tapestry, ...) within the A.P.C.T. (Association of Cartoonists-Tapestry Makers). His universe, where the human figure, stretched and elongated, holds a considerable place (compared in particular to the place it occupies among his colleagues Lurçat, or Picart le Doux), revolves around traditional themes: woman, Commedia dell'arte, Greek myths, ... sublimated by the brilliance of the colours and the simplification of the layout. He then evolved, in the 1960s, towards more lyrical, almost abstract cartoons, where cosmic elements and forces dominate.

“[This cartoon] was a success (7 copies) and there are 2 versions: one with a Bordeaux background, the other with a black background. Once again, Saint-Saëns refers to the great tradition of verdure populated with animals and flowers, an art of relaxation without pretension…. ” (Michèle Heng in Cat. Expo. Saint-Saëns, woven work, Aubusson, Departmental Tapestry Museum, 1987, p.34)

Bibliography :
Cat. Expo. Saint-Saëns, Paris, La Demeure gallery, 1970
Cat. Expo. Saint-Saëns, woven work, Aubusson, Departmental Tapestry Museum, 1987
Cat. Expo. Marc Saint-Saëns, tapestries, 1935-1979, Angers, Jean Lurçat Museum and Contemporary Tapestry, 1997-1998