Wednesday, July 19, 2017

The Tapestries of Dom Robert

From France Today:
Many of the tapestries are monumental: bold and mesmerizing works of art. Nature was readily the inspiration for Dom Robert, born in 1907 and deceased in 1997. He was a monk at the Abbaye d’En-Calcat in the neighbouring commune of Dourgne, and demonstrated his keen attachment to nature with his numerous sketches and watercolors. In 1941, the tapestry artist Jean Lurçat made the acquaintance of Dom Robert and was touched by his highly original and sensitive work.

 Encouraged by Lurçat, Dom Robert worked up patterns to begin the process of creating tapestries. From 1942 to 1992, he created close to 150 tapestries, most fabricated by the Goubely atelier in Aubusson, which helped to revive tapestry manufacturing. I found the process Dom Robert used of transferring the designs into numbered patterns for the weavers to follow, truly mind boggling. There is an exhibit room set up showing how this process was achieved with a multitude of minuscule color changes made for the exacting patterns. Sitting before some of these majestic tapestries was a meditation on the power and wonder of nature. His lyrical quality creates a unique symphony of line and colour that plays to the inner child and soul. The disappointment came when the guard advised us it was time to leave; the museum closes promptly at 6 pm. (Read more.)
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