Le Corbusier

Whilst best known as one of the leading figures of the modernist movement in architecture, with his radical theoretical ideas, Le Corbusier also practised (like Picasso, for example) virtually every form of visual and decorative art. He thus took an interest in tapestry, particularly in relation to his architectural theories. He envisaged tapestry as ‘the mural of modern times’, hence a neologism he coined, ‘Muralnomad’: the tapestry becomes the woolen wall that his contemporaries carry with them as they move from place to place, and constitutes not merely a decorative element, but forms part of the spatial arrangement of interiors, whilst contributing to their visual (and acoustic). These theoretical reflections took shape through the design—notably with the assistance of Pierre Baudouin (who, in the role of technical director, acted as an interface with the weavers)—of some thirty cartoons, from 1948 until his death (following an initial cartoon as early as 1936, for Marie Cuttoli): whilst they draw on certain motifs from his paintings (female figures, objects inspired by Purism, mythological themes, etc.), these cartoons are intended to be distinct, and specifically designed for tapestry: clean lines, black, blocks of pure colour, …

‘Les Musiciennes’ is a large-scale cartoon from 1953, woven in two distinct versions. Our tapestry features a detail from the second version of ‘Les Musiciennes’ and reflects the architect’s desire, in 1964, to collaborate with the Fino workshop in Portalegre, Portugal (where works by Lurçat, Matégot and Julio Pomar were also woven); this was ultimately their only collaboration, as Le Corbusier died in 1965. The chosen detail emphasises the faces and hands (a recurring motif, which also gives its title to a 1951 design sketch), in a sort of imaginary dialogue between two figures facing one another.

Bibliography:
Exhibition catalogue Les Tapisseries de Le Corbusier, Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, 1975
Exhibition catalogue Le Corbusier œuvre tissé, Aubusson, Musée départemental de la Tapisserie, 1987
Exhibition catalogue Tapisseries du Portugal, Bordeaux, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, 1994, reproduced on p. 39