Edmond DUBRUNFAUT

Flore des tropiques (tropical flora)

Aubusson tapestry woven in the Four workshop.
With label, No. EA.
Circa 1975.

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 Mons,from 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,a veritable heritage centre for the art of the tapestry in Wallonie. His style, characterised by figuration, strong colour contrasts, draws direct inspiration from nature and animal life (as with Perrot, for example, this artist has a noteworthy predilection for birdlife).

Towards the end of his career, Dubrunfaut adopted a fairy-tale style (with sharp, angular forms reminiscent of Marc Petit), the subject matter of which (hummingbirds and exotic plants) echoes the work of Lurçat from the 1950s.