Art: Tapestry

Jean Lurçat, French tapestry artist, has a recurring dream. He is in Paris, walking across the Place de la Concorde toward the Hotel Crillon. Suddenly, the grey old Crillon is transformed before his eyes. The roof is covered with tapestries, the front groans with tapestries, the sides sag with tapestries. A cheering multitude salutes him. In a twinkling, Paris is smothered with tapestries—all by Lurçat. “Ah,” grins Lurçat, “what a wonderful dream.”

For all Paris knows, Jean Lurçat’s rosy dream might come true. Europe is in the midst of a tapestry boom, and Lurçat can take much of the credit. A onetime cubist painter, he started designing tapestries shortly before World War II. His idea was that most contemporary work, modeled on the tastes of 18th century boudoir muralists, was too fussy and too expensive. Lurçat drew up designs with a simpler look, chose a few basic colors, and hired weavers at Aubusson’s famed factories to turn them out. His 1946 show was a spanking success (TIME, June 24, 1946), and Lurçat has been on top of the world ever since.

Half of Aubusson. Lurçat estimates that tapestry-making in Europe has increased 300% in the last half dozen years. Since 1946, Aubusson workers have turned out close to 1,000 Lurçat pieces, from small breadwinners (price: $700) for private buyers, to huge 60 by 13 ft. works (up to $17,000) for banks, churches, corporation offices and government buildings. Aubusson’s 400 weavers spend half their time working for Lurçat nowadays.

“I am an optimist,” Lurçat says, “and my tapestries are optimists.” His designs are filled with riotous color and movement; flocks of flitting butterflies, bounding animals and forests of flying leaves, all done in brilliant reds, blues, mustard yellows and jet black. Sometimes the optimism comes out with a reverse twist. One of his best works is a large (210 sq. ft.) affair with an evil-looking creature covered with yellow and black feathers facing a gaily prancing deer—and a legend: “So you will better understand unhappiness [which] is too stupid to exist.”

And Ceramics Too. His tapestry work alone would burden a lesser man, but Lurçat does it easily and finds time for other ventures. He still paints, and illustrates books, and when a friend challenged him to try it last year, he started dabbling in ceramics. But Lurçat never gets too serious about the sidelines: “Tapestry is the big thing in my life.”

Paris critics agree. At an exhibit last week, to celebrate Lurçat’s 60th birthday, the experts trooped through rooms of tapestries, paintings, ceramics and illustrations, studied the forms and startling colors, then hurried home to write their critiques. Said Paris’ Le Figaro: “Lurçat has reached heights of success higher than was expected. Tapestry is à la mode.” Said Le Monde: “Lurçat has made the wool sing again.”