28
WHYTES
SINCE 1783
,
33
Louis le Brocquy HRHA (1916-2012)
ADAM AND EVE IN THE GARDEN, 1950-1952
colour-inverted Aubusson tapestry, Atelier René Duché; (no. 4
from an edition of 9)
signed [leB] and dated [‘52] lower left; signed by maître-lissier,
René Duché, with initials and numbered in the weave on
reverse lower right; with Certificate of Authenticity sewn on
reverse, signed, numbered, titled and dated by le Brocquy and
Duché
55
by 108in. (139.70 by 274.32cm)
Provenance:
Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner
The genesis of le Brocquy’s colour-inverted tapestries pivots on his
meeting with designer Jean Lurçat in the summer of 1952 in London
where le Brocquy had established his studio, in Battersea, in spring
that year.The innovations in the weaving industry coupled with his
own earlier interest in the emotional effect of colour led him to
explore the medium through the adaptation of early small-scale flat
(
gouache) cartoons. Between 1948 and 1952 these were translated
into woven images facilitated by Tabard Frères et Soeurs, Aubusson
and included
Travellers, Garlanded Goat
and the
Eden
series.
In the artist’s notes in the catalogue for ‘Louis le Brocquy, Aubusson
Tapestries’, 3-29 May 2001 with Agnew’s, he describes the process
thus:
”
These tapestries were designed by means of a technique I learned
directly from the master in this medium, Jean Lurçat. No colour sketch
is involved. Instead a purely linear cartoon defines areas within which
a range of coloured wools are indicated by numbers.