The 2 squirrels
Tapestry woven by the Wit workshop.
With its bolduc signed.
Circa 1960.
Edmond Dubrunfaut can be considered as the great 20th century renovator of the Belgian tapestry tradition. He founded a weavers’ workshop in Tournai as early as 1942, then, in 1947, created the Centre de Rénovation de la Tapisserie de Tournai . He produced for various Belgian workshops (Chaudoir, de Wit,…) numerous cartoons destined notably to adorn Belgian embassies throughout the world. Moreover, Dubrunfaut was a teacher of monumental art forms at theAcadémie des Beaux-Arts de Monsfrom 1947 to 1978 and then, in 1979, contributed to the creation of the Fondation de la tapisserie, des arts du tissu et des arts muraux de Tournai, true conservatory of tapestry in Wallonia. His figurative style used strong color contrasts and was often inspired by animals and nature (like Perrot, for example; the artist had a strong inclination toward ornithology).
The squirrel formed one of the recurring themes in the artist’s work (see “Feux du soir”, “Ecureuils et volatiles”…): here, the tails formed a decorative motif in their own right.
