L'Éternel Décoratif: French Art in the 1950s
Author(s): Romy Golan
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Yale French Studies, No. 98, The French Fifties (2000), pp. 98-118
Published by: Yale University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2903230 .
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ROMY GOLAN
L'EternelDecoratif:
FrenchArtin the 1950s
In 1953,themagazineArtDigestpublisheda symposiumon theques" The threeyoungAmerition"Is theFrenchAvant-Garde
Overrated?
can paintersinterviewed,
RalstonCrawford,
RobertMotherwell,and
JackTworkov,
saidtheydidnotfindthequestionrelevanttotheirwork,
addingthatit smackedbothofnationalismand provincialism.
Clement Greenberg,
on the otherhand,the sole criticon thepanel,found
himselfcompletelyin his elementandwas onlytoohappyto answera
questionthathis ownwritings
had donemuchto provoke.Yes,he answered,France'sculturalprestigedidaccountin largepartforthecritical andcommercialsuccessofthelatestexportation
ofFrenchabstract
painting.Largelydismissiveofthatsuccess,he wenton to articulatea
crucialdifference
betweentheFrenchandtheAmericanversionsofAbstractExpressionism:
"In Paris,they'finish'andunifytheabstractpicturein a waythatmakesitmoreagreeableto standardtaste.Theystill
go for'paintquality'in theacceptedsense.They 'enrich'the surface
withfilmsofoil orvarnish,orwithbuttery
paint.The resultis softer,
suaver.IfAbstractExpressionism
embodiesa visionofitsown,thatvisionis tamedin Paris."1Almosteveryadjectivein Greenberg's
statementpointsin thesamedirection:
theweaknessoftheFrenchforbelle
peinture.Such commentsalso indicatethe extentto whichthe "triumphofAmericanpainting"in the 1950s was predicatedon the demotionofFrenchpaintingtothedecorative.The culturewarsbetween
FranceandAmericain the 1940sand 1950shaveprovidedbothedifymaterialforarthistoricalwriting.One aspectthat
ingand engrossing
has been overlooked,however,exceptfora passingifpointedremark
Overrated?,"
ArtDigest(15 September
Is theFrenchAvant-Garde
1. "Symposium:
1953):12.
YFS 98, TheFrenchFifties,
ed. SusanWeiner,C 2000byYale University.
98
ROMY GOLAN
99
by SergeGuilbaut in his book How New YorkStole the Idea ofModern
Art,is preciselythe question of the decorative,and, more specifically,
the criticallink between the desire forlarge-sizepicturesin the 1950s
and the decorative.2
It is Clement Greenbergwho, in two articles published in 1948, describedthe situation most perceptively:
as it is largelyunconscious,to
Thereis a persistent
urge,as persistent
go beyondthecabinetpicturewhichis destinedto occupyonlya spot
on thewall,to a kindofpicturethat,withoutactuallybecomingidentifiedwiththewall likea mural,wouldspreadoveritandacknowledge
its physicalreality.... But it is a factthatabstractpaintingshowsa
greater
andgreater
reluctanceforthesmall,frame-enclosed
format.
Abstractpaintingbeingflat,needsa greater
extensionofsurfaceonwhich
todevelopitsidealsthandoestheoldthreedimensionaleaselpainting.
Thus while thepainter'srelationto his arthas becomemoreprivate
thaneverbeforebecauseofa shrinking
onthepublic'spart,
appreciation
thearchitectural
sociallocationforwhichhe destines
and,presumably
hisproducthas become,in inverseratio,morepublic.Thisis theparain themaster-current
ofpainting.3
dox,thecontradiction,
What Greenbergchose to overlook,however,even thoughhe was writing forthe Marxist Partisan Review, was the ideological dimension of
this so-called "crisis ofeasel painting,"the title ofGreenberg'sfirstarticle. To understand"the situation at the moment," the title ofGreenberg'ssecond article,one has to delve into the 1930s. For it is the thirties that had witnessed, both in Europe and in the United States, the
revival of mural painting.And it is the 1930s which, politically troubled as theywere, cast theirlong shadow onto the 1950s. AfterWorld
WarII, the desireformural painting-or ratherfora "mural effect"(for
technicallyspeakingveryfewofthese images were actually murals)had persisted.Yet it had now become ideologically tainted. It became
imperativeto dispel any distastefulhints of an artformwhose revival
had been so oftenassociated in the 1930s with either Communist or
2. SergeGuilbaut,How New YorkStole theIdea ofModernArt:AbstractExpresofChicagoPress:1983),196.
sionism,Freedom,and theCold War(Chicago:University
See also his "PostwarPaintingGames:The Roughand the Slick,"in Reconstructing
inNew York,Paris,andMontreal1945-1964,ed.SergeGuilbaut(CamModernism:Art
Mass: MIT Press,1990):30-79.
bridge,
" inGreenberg,
TheCollected
"The SituationattheMoment,
3. ClementGreenberg,
Purpose1945-1949,vol 2, ed. JohnO'Brian(Chicago:
Essaysand Criticism:Arrogant
ofChicagoPress,1986),194-95; see also,inthesamevolume,"The Crisisof
University
theEaselPicture,"221-25.
100
YaleFrench
Studies
Fascistindoctrination.
in any stylethat
Figurationand storytelling
vaguelysmackedof eitherneoclassicismor SocialistRealism were
thuscategorically
forsakenforabstraction.
Duringthe 1930s,therequirementthatmuralpaintingbe integraltothewall andweddedtoarhadbeengroundednotso muchin thefearofthedecorative
chitecture
as in thedesirefora monumentalartthatwould embodytotalitarian
regimes'aspirationsto last fora millennium.This is whyit became
crucialafterthewarformural-sizeimagestobe relatedbutultimately
distinctfromarchitecture.
Muralsin the 1930s had been eminently
in
propagandistic theirpublicmode ofaddress.Hence it was now essentialformural-sizeworksto retreatfromthepublicsphereintothe
autonomousspaceofthemodernartmuseumorintotheprivatesphere
ofthe artcollector'sapartment.But,as a resultoftheirabstraction,
theirdetachment
fromarchitecture,
andtheirretrenchment
intoa private or semi-private
space,largeworksnow rantheriskofbecoming
"'mereornament,""littlemorethanpleasingdecoration."Some adjustmentshad to be made.4The workshad to becomehybrids:somewherein betweenthemuraland thelargeeasel painting.
Whilehe mayhaveadopted,bythe1950s,a patronizing
attitudetowardFrenchpainting,Greenberg
remainedfaithful
to his earlyloves.
He thusfoundhimselfhavingto makea specialcase in orderto "salMatisse
vage" Matisse.Bythetimeofhis 1951MOMA retrospective,
had recentlyventured,
withhis mural-sizepaperand textilecutouts,
intothemostunabashedlydecorativephaseofhis career(Fig.1):
Thereis a habitofreferring
toMatisseas a decorator.
Theirony
is that
is theareainwhichhe hasfailedoftenest.
His paper
puredecoration
hisventures
intoappliedart,andmostofwhatI haveseenof
cut-outs,
histapestry
andevenmuralsseemtomethefeeblest
ofthe
designs,
hehasdone.He is an easelpainter
things
from
first
tolast:thisis obscured-ifitreallyis-onlybytheunprecedented
successofhiseffort
toassimilate
decoration
tothepurposes
oftheeaselpicture
without
at
the same timeweakeningtheintegrity
ofthelatter.... Matissewas
hismotifs
forthesakeofa moreabstract,
flattening
andsuppospurer,
effect.
Buttheresults
edlymoresoothing
amounttomuchmorethan
decoration.5
4. Althoughnoneoftheessaysdealwiththe1950s,see theexcellentNot at Home:
TheSuppression
ofDomesticity
in ModernArtandArchitecture,
ed. Christopher
Read
(London:ThamesandHudson,1996).
5. Greenberg,
"FeelingIs All" (1952),in Greenberg,
The CollectedEssaysand Criticism:Affirmations
and Refusals1950-1956,vol.3, (1993),100-101.
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102
YaleFrenchStudies
Eightyearslater,in the exhibitioncatalogofJoanMiro'sMOMA
curatorJamesThrallSobylikewisehadtomakea special
retrospective,
plea fortheartist'stworecentmuralcommissionsin America:one for
theGourmetRestaurantin Cincinnati'sTerraceHiltonHotel (Fig.2),
the otherforthe dininghall ofHarknessCommonsin the Graduate
hewrote:"The mural'sgaietyand
CenteratHarvard.Abouttheformer
sweeparemostimpressive.Herebeyondquestionis a masterdecoratorat work,andifthemurallackstheprofundity
ofMiro'sfinesteasel
pictures,it neverthelessfulfillsbrilliantlyits festivepurpose."And
aboutthelatter:"Doubtlessthefactthatthemuralwas plannedforan
educationalinstitution
persuadedMirotoworkwitha sterner
creative
impetusthanhe had fortheCincinnatihotel'sdiningroomwall."6
In theeyesofAmericancriticsduringthe 1950s,it was barelyacceptableforolderFrenchorParis-basedartiststo dabblein decoration.
Whenit came to theyoungartistsoftheNew YorkSchool,however,
theslightesthintat an interaction
betweenbigpaintingsand thedecorativehad to be avoided.Thus Mark Rothko,who had acceptedin
1958a commissiontopainta groupoffivemuralcanvasesfortheFour
Seasons Restaurantat the SeagramBuildingin New York,refusedat
thelastminutetodelivertheworkwhenitwas completeda yearlater.
He eventuallygavethepaintingsto theTate Galleryin London,with
thestrictstipulationthattheyalwaysbe exhibitedon theirown in a
specialroom.Andevenas MOMA was abouttosenditsshowTheNew
AmericanPaintingon a "GrandTour"to eightEuropeancapitals,the
criticE. C. Goosen was stillbusysecuringthestatusofAbstractExpressionist
paintinginan articleentitled"The BigCanvas," written
for
ArtInternational
in 1958:
Thesizeofsuchpictures
tothesizeofthekindofrooms
isnotadjusted
wecurrently
livein.Evenmuseums
arenotinlovewithlargepictures.
suchcanvaseshaveforced
theirwayintorooms
Recently,
however,
wheretheyconsume
theentire
wallspace,andinturnaffect
thequalanemotional
ityoflifeintheroompressing
experience
uponthosewho
usedtohavetostandandpeer.7
This kindofrhetorical
theprerequisite
"difficulty"
exercise,stressing
ofgoodmodernart,had becomeall themorenecessaryas disclaimer
and antidote.Two richlyillustratedbookspublishedin New York6. JamesThrallSoby,loanMir6(NewYork:TheMuseumofModernArt,1959):12224.
7. E. C. Goosen,"The BigCanvas,"ArtInternational
2/8(November1958):45-47.
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Figure2. JoanMir6,GourmetRoom,Plaza Hotel,Cincinnati,1947.
.
.,
104
YaleFrenchStudies
written
byEleanorBitterman
in 1952,and
ArtinModernArchitecture,
writtenby Paul Damaz in 19578-reArtin EuropeanArchitecture,
vealed that an unprecedentednumberof Americanand European
artistshad becomeinvolvedwithmural-sizepaintings,ceramicmosaics,tapestry
hangings,
andenamelsduringthe1950s.Thesewereinbuildingssuchas townhallsand
tendednotforthewallsofgovernment
post offices,as had been the case in the 1930s,but forpurelyrecreloungebars,nightclubs,hotel lobbies,
ational settings:restaurants,
andpatios,bothon landandon ocean liners(Fig.3). These projectsinvolvedmostlysecond-tier
artists.Still,artcriticismhad to stepin to
stopthetideand securetheseparationofhighandlow.
Frenchcritics,too,madesuretodissociatethemselvesfromthedecorative.They did it bothfortheirown sakes and in responseto the
toneofAmericanwriting
onthingsFrench.Thus
newlycondescending
in 1949,ChristianZervos,theeditorofCahiersd'art,a magazinethat
had devotedmanyspecialissues to Matisseovertheyears,expressed
viewoftheartist'spapercutoutsthanGreenberg
would
an evenharsher
two yearslaterwhenhe firstsaw themat theMusee Nationald'Art
Moderne:
tosaythatoneshouldpayno attention
to
Is itnecessary
whatsoever
the
thatconstitute,
withthedecorative
hangings,
thesepapercutouts
Asfaras I amconcerned
theyaretobigdealattheMatisseexhibition?
tothepaintings....Thebest
andnefarious
neighbors
tallynegligible
as a textile
ora wallpaper
design.9
theycoulddowouldbe tofunction
The painterAndreMassontookthesameroutewhenin 1952he wrote
thefirstmajorarticleon Claude Monet'sNympheassincetheirinstallationintwospeciallydesignedovalroomsat theMusee del'Orangerie
almosttwentyyearsearlier.Masson had spentthe war yearsin the
UnitedStatesin close contactwiththefutureAbstractExpressionists.
He knewexactlywhatit tookto bringMonet'slate work,whichhad
ofAmericanpainters,
generation
justbeenrediscovered
bytheyounger
back underthe Frenchmantle.WhatMonethad called his "Grandes
Decorations"whentheywerepaintedin thelate 1920swerethusrecastbyMassonas largeeasel paintings:
toward
theuseoflargecanvases,
Onecoulddreamofa Monetturning
ofVeronese
thepreserve
andTiepolo.Do notdream
clearandiridescent,
New York.
8. BothwerepublishedbyReinholdPublishers,
9. ChristianZervos,"A proposde l'expositionMatisseau Mus6ed'ArtModernede
Paris,"Cahiersd'Art1 (1949):159-72,mytranslation.
2EW11"'
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.....
..
Un_
0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
mum
AndreaDoria Ocean Liner,ca. 1955.Rep
Figure3. MichaelRachlis,wall tapestry,
(New York:Reinhold,1956).
EuropeanArchitecture
106
YaleFrenchStudies
anymore;consider
hissupreme
work,theNymphgas.
Despitetheir
monumental
dimensions,
theydonothavethecharacteristics
ofgrand
Venetian
orFlemish
decoration.
Hisdisposition
ofspirit
appears
tome
tobethatofthegreateaselpainter
whodecidestoyieldtohisvisiona
field
vastenough-imposing
enough-sothatitembraces
theworld....
10
OneofthepeaksofFrench
genius.
The majorexhibitionand book Un art autre:ouiii s'agit de noucurator
veaux devidagesdu reel,writtenin 1952 by then-influential
and criticMichelTapie de Celeyran,was entirely
premisedon situatingpeintureinformelle-theFrenchequivalenttoAmericanAbstract
Expressionism-notsimplyagainst,but outsideofanyconcernwith
11Yetis was in an articleon
thenotionoftradition
and bellepeinture.
thetrulymural-sizepaintingproducedin Franceduringthe1950s,the
workofGeorgesMathieu(Fig.4),thatTapie'srefutation
oftheniceties
ofbellepeinturereachedan almostdesperatepitch.The article,"Mathieu Paintsa Picture,"withphotographs
bythecinematographer
Robert
launchedbyArt
Descharmes,belongsto a seriesoffourphoto-essays
Newsin 1951showingbothAmericanandEuropeanpainters(theother
andtheItalianAlberto
essaysdealtwithJackson
Pollock,JeanFautrier,
ina varietyofunorthodox
Burri,
respectively)
working
mannersintheir
studios.'2YetwhileFautrierand Burriwereshownat workin a quiet
and absorbedmoodin theirstudio,it becomesperfectly
clear,as soon
andevenmoreas onebegins
as oneglancesat theMathieuphotographs
toreadthetext,thatthatarticlewas conceivedas a defiantresponseto
two previousessaysin the magazine:RobertGoodnough's"Pollock
" thefirstin thephoto-essay
Paintsa Picture,
series,andHaroldRosen" publishedinArt
berg'snowfamous"The AmericanActionPaintings,
News in 1952.The photographs
byDescharnesshowedMathieuwearcostumeofblacksilk,whitebonnet,andcrossedleggings,
inga fanciful
midwaybetweenthatofa JapaneseSamuraianda FrenchCarolingian
knight,squirtingpainton canvasesmeasuringovertwo metershigh
and six metersacross(Fig.5). The artistis engagedin a studioperformancesituated,like his outfit,midwaybetweenthesublimeand the
See my
Verve7(1952):68,mytranslation.
10. AndreMasson,"Monetle fondateur,"
essay"OceanicSensations:Monet's'GrandesDecorations'andMuralPaintinginFrance
from1927to 1952,"inMonetin the20thCentury(Boston:MuseumofFineArts,1998):
86-97.
andwas pub11. Thebookaccompanieda showat thegalleryStudioPaul Facchetti,
lishedbyGabrielGiraud& Fils.
12. MichelTapi6de Ceyleran,photographs
byRobertDescharnes,"MathieuPaints
a Picture,"ArtNews53/10(February
1955):50-53.
-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I
'~~~~~~~~~~
Figure4. GeorgesMathieu,"The BattleofBouvines,"1954,oil on canvas,2.5 x 6
0
.
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....... ............ .....
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. .........
....
......
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. . ................
Figure5. RobertDescharmes,"GeorgesMathieuat workin his studio,"ArtNews
ROMY
GOLAN
109
ridiculous,in an attemptto upstage,bothin canvas-sizeand in painting-as-spectacle,
Hans Namuth'smemorablephotographs
ofPollock
forGoodnough'sarticle.Tapie's textreturnedagain and again,in a
heavy-handed
Nietzscheanvoice, to thefactthatMathieu'sgestures
were "dictatedby the urgeforvehemenceand violence." This was
meanttooutweighRosenberg's
ideaofthepaintingas an eventandthe
haddonea percanvasas an arenainwhichtoact.YetwhileRosenberg
fectjob at keepingAmericanactionpaintingsafe,at least fora short
and the decorative("apocalypticwall
while,fromboththeatricality
Mathieulapsedintoboth.
painting"),
It is notin largeeasel painting,however,butin themediumoftapestrythatone findsthemostinteresting
and,it turnsout,byfarthe
mostambitiousresponseto the desireformural-sizeworkin France
duringthe1950s.Tapestrystoodas a warm,consolingvestigeofsavoir
ata timewhentheFrenchwere
vivreandofgrandhistoricalpatrimoine
a massivecrisisofconfidencein thenew worldorderof
experiencing
theCold War.Its two leadingproponentswereJeanCassou, thefirst
chiefcuratorofParis'snew Musee Nationald'ArtModerne,and the
JeanLurcat.The museum'sfirstexhipainterturnedtapestry-maker,
bitionin 1946,aftertheinauguralunveilingofits permanentcollectionofpaintingand sculpture,
was dedicated,significantly
enough,to
La tapisseriefrancaisedu moyen-agea nos jours.It was followedby
otherlargeexhibitionssuchas Quatreannees de tapisseriefrancaise
in 1957,and
of1949,La tapisseriefrancaiseetles peintres-cartonniers
Tapisseries,
peintures,
gouachesde JeanLurcatin 1958,all curatedby
Cassou. Meanwhile,theMusee des ArtsDecoratifsorganizedTapisseriesfrancaises1949-1952in 1952,andTapisseries58 in 1958which,
like theexhibitionDouze tapisseriesineditesexecuteesdans les AteliersTabarda Aubussonat theGallerieDenise Renein 1952,featured
basedalmostexclusivelyon thedesignsofabstractartists.13
tapestries
InhisbookSituationde Partmoderneof1951,publishedbyLes editionsde Minuit,Cassou presentedtapestry
as one ofthemostimporart.Yet such accoladeswerealtantmanifestations
ofcontemporary
readyabsentin the 1950sfroman importantmagazinelike Cimaise,
Norhas it figwhichwas devotedto thecause ofpeintureinformelle.
and Frencharthistories.It went
uredin morerecentAnglo-American
inthecolloquiumandbookReconstructing
Modtotallyunmentioned
13. Cassou was consistentin his taste.He praisedMatisse'slate paperand textile
in 1949(reviewed
byZervos),andin 1956.
cutoutsin his cataloguesoftwoexhibitions:
110
YaleFrenchStudies
ernism:Artin New York,Paris,and Montreal1945-1962 editedby
Serge Guilbaut in 1990, in spite of the fact that the book jacket,
gracedbya Cecil Beatonfashionphotograph
in whicha classicPollock
drippaintingactedas backdropto a modelin a 1951fashionspreadfor
14 TaVogue,promisedbraveventuresintotherealmofthedecorative.
pestrywas hardlymentionedin thecatalogoftheexhibitionsL'arten
Europe.Les anneesdecisives1945-1953 (curatedbyBernardCeysson
in 1987),andLes annees
at theMusee d'ArtModernede Saint-Etienne
50 (at theMusee Nationald'ArtModerne,CentreGeorgesPompidou
in 1988),or evenin therecenthomagebytheCentreGeorgesPompidoutoitsfirstdirector,
JeanCassou 1897-1986.Unmuseeimagine(in
1995).15 The reasonforthisomissionis clear:tapestry
has remainedan
tothemasternarrative
ofmodernism,
embarrassment
notjustbecause
it repeatedly
brushesup againsttheproblemofthedecorativebutbea hybrid.The descriptiongivenby Georges
cause it is, intrinsically,
Boudaille,one oftheeditorsofCimaise,in hisreviewoftheexhibition
inwhatappearstohave
Tapisseries58 attheMusee desArtsDecoratifs,
beenthatmagazine'sonlyreference
to tapestry
thefifties,
throughout
makesthispointclear:
like anysideboard,
nordisappear
shouldnotjustfurnish
Tapestry
intothewalllikewallpaper.
shouldnotjustbe decorative.
It
Tapestry
callattention
toitself
likea painting
orsendanoverly
direct
shouldn't
theauthor
andthespectator.
sitbetween
Theroleoftapestry
message
uatesitself
morethanever,itseemstome,midway
between
painting
16
anddecoration.
It is thishybridposition-midwaybetweenpaintingand decoration-that made tapestrya uniquelycriticalmediumin the French
fifties.
betweentaJeanLurcatrepeatedlyspokeaboutthe difference
we aretold,began
pestryandeaselpainting.The decadenceoftapestry,
at theendofthegreatFrenchmiddleages,duringtheRenaissance,as
soon as it beganto tryto imitatepainting.It reacheda nadirwiththe
triumphofeasel paintingin thenineteenthcentury.
Avoidingthenuancedcoloristiceffects
oftheManufactures
desGobelinsandBeauvais,
oneshouldneverjudgea bookbyitscover!"SergeGuilbautquipped,
14. "Remember,
half-jokingly.
15. Thatis,beforethesplitofthecollectionsbetweentheMus6ed'ArtModernede
la Villede ParisandtheMus6eNationald'ArtModerne,CentreGeorgesPompidouin
1977.
16. GeorgesBoudaille,"Les expositionsa Paris:Tapisseries58," Cimaise 6 (JulySept1958):42.
ROMY GOLAN
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6. MarioPrassmo...s.,..
o tPesub c.15.Rerne
Figure
Au..
Tel...I,..1957).
(Paris:
fran~~~~aise
etlea peintrescartonniers
Cassou,
La tapisserie
11
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2?,..,2j.. .i f ,,<.
_-
-
___
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_ol
....
,,
_E
:.
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]_
-
Figure 7. JeanLurcat,"The LadyandtheDragon,"1947.Aubussontapestry,
4.55 x 12.10meters.NotreDame de TouteGrace,Assy.Reprinted
in Jean
Cassou,La tapisseriefranSaise et le peintrescartonniers(Paris:Tel, 1957).
ROMY
GOLAN
113
whosepalettehad escalatedbytheeighteenth
centuryto themadness
of sevenhundreddifferent
shades,Lurcatrestricted
himselfto forty,
and eventuallyto twenty.Wovenframing
devicessimulatingwooden
gildedframeswerelikewiseto be eliminated.Andso was anytraceof
three-dimensional
trompe-l'oeil
effect
so as toretrieve,
witha truthto
materialsconcordant
withthecredoofhighmodernism,
theintrinsic
two-dimensional
properties
ofthewovenmedium.17
Yetitis precisely
in itsmostmodernabstractguise-when basedon designsbyJeanArp,
AugusteHerbin,AlbertoMagnelli,FernandLeger,Le Corbusier,Matisse,andVasarely,
oron cartoonslike theone byMarioPrassinosimitatingthevignettecalligraphicgestureofHans Hartungor Mathieu
(Fig.6), or even on Lurcat'sown compositions(Fig.7)-that tapestry
came to functionas a parergon.
In his longdiscussionofImmanuelKant'streatment
ofornament
in The CritiqueofJudgment,
JacquesDerridadescribestheparergon
in the followingfashion.18The parergonis thatthingthatmay apandsuperfluous,
pearat firsttobe unimportant,
accessory,
marginalas
but thatis in factintegralto theworkor erdecorationor ornament,
gon-in our case Parisianpaintingof the 1950s. The parergonis no
meresupplement,
Derridaargues,buta "dangeroussupplement."For
it "givesto see," it "causes to be seen,"somethingabouttheergonitits
self,namelya lack.Byrevealinga lack in theobjectit supplements,
is subversive.The supplemented
supplementarity
objectturnsout to
be knowableonly throughits supplement.Also, in contrastto the
"complement,"the supplement,by makingup (supplying)forultimatelystandsfor,addsonlyin orderto replace.Applyingthislogicof
to theFrenchfiftiesone maysay thatwhattapestry
supplementarity
as parergon
allowedtobe seenis whatthechampionsofcontemporary
Frenchpainting,
MichelTapie,MichelRagon,CharlesEstienne,even
all too unwillingto contemplate.And thatis that
were
JeanCassou,
theergon-Parisianabstractionchaude (gesturalabstraction)
and abstractionfroide(geometricabstraction)-wasabout to become marginalto AbstractExpressionism
duringthe 1950s:nothingmorethan
in Francein
bellepeinture.The risetoprominenceofmoderntapestry
17. JeanLurcat,Tapisserie
francaiseParis:Bordas,1947).See also ClaudeFaux,Lurcata hautevoix(Paris:Ren6Julliard,
1962),and"JeanLurcatetla renaissancedela tapisde la
seriea Aubusson,"SpecialissueofColloque92 (Aubusson:Mus6eD6partemental
Tapisserie,1992).
18. JacquesDerrida,"Parergon,"
in The Truthin Painting,trans.GeoffBennington
ofChicagoPress,1987):15-147; see also Jacques
andIan McLeod(Chicago:University
Soulillou,Le decoratif
(Paris:Klincksieck,
1990).
114
YaleFrenchStudies
theaftermath
ofWorldWarII revealedhowFrenchpaintingwas about
to standin relationto thepaintingoftheNew YorkSchoolas tapestry
stoodin relationto painting.It is bybeingputso oftenon display,not
whereone expectedto see it,but
justin theMusee desArtsDecoratifs,
in theveryshrineofmodernFrenchart-Paris's Musee Nationald'Art
allowedtodeployitself
Moderne-thattapestry
was mostdangerously
as parergon.
French
Cassou was unawareofthedamagehe didto contemporary
painting.As a faithful"fellowtraveler"oftheLeft,fromtheyearsof
the PopularFront,throughhis fightin themaquis ofthe Resistance
intheCommunistParty
duringtheyearsofVichy,andhismembership
until1949,he was lookingfora popularartform.Cassou saw in tapestryan expedientchannelformodernismto themasses.As he putit in
1958in his bookLa tapisseriefrancaiseetles peintrescartonniers:
medium,
modern
artinfiltrates,
withViathisfunctional
andfamiliar
life.Bythesametokenthemodern
artist
outshocking
people,
everyday
of
reintegrates
himself
intothesocial.He putshisgeniusintheservice
thecollective.
He recovers
hisroleoflaborer,
andproducer.'9
worker,
The emphasison thewords"travailleur,"
"ouvrier"and "producteur"
was aimed at dissociatingmoderntapestryfromthreethings:from
thetriumph
associatedwitheaselpainting;
ofbourgeoisindividualism
andfromthenosfromthedomestic,decorativerealmofthefeminine;
talgic,feudalistdreamsofa medievalsocietyofartisanguildsassociatedwiththecraftofweavingduringtheyearsofPetain'sregime.Cassou and Lurcatsuccessfullymanagedto link tapestryto the French
mythofResistantialisme.Thus,as thestorygoes,whilethetapestry
oftheGobelinsandBeauvaiswerechurning
outofficial
manufacturers
at Aubussonin the Creuse,
commissionsfortheVichygovernment,
whichwenton unabatedduringthe 1940s,was firstthe
production,
fruitofindependentworkin the so called FreeZone, thenwentunonce theGermanstookoverthewholecountryin 1942.
derground
Key to the revivalof tapestryforLurcatwas thatit retrieve,in a
modernguise,themuralfunctionit had servedin theFrenchMiddle
wouldthusbecomeonceagaina woolenwall ("unemuAges.Tapestry
raille de laine") in its own right.To make his pointclear,Lurcatrepeatedlycomparedhis ownApocalypse:Lady and theDragon,which
was installedin 1951in theapse ofthenew churchofNotreDame de
(Paris:Editions
19. JeanCassou,La tapisseriefranpaiseet les peintrescartonniers
Tel, 1957),23.
ROMY
GOLAN
115
Toute Gracein Assy(Fig.7), and laterhis tapestrycycleLe chantdu
monde,to theApocalypsed'Angers,a hugeensembleofseventapestriesover144meterslongand5.5 metershighwovenin thefourteenth
centuryfortheDuke ofAnjoubyNicolas Bataille.20In a desperatebid
forthe heroic,Lurcat's"wovenmonuments,"as he called them,becamelargerandlargeras the1950sworeon.Yettheymanagedtoelude
thedouble-bind
ofthe1930s.Theywereneithermurals-as-Monument
witha capitalM,norweretheytacked-ondecorations.
Theywerewhat
Le Corbusier,himselfon thelookoutfora new muralconceptforthe
1950s,coinedas Muralnomad.Itwas intheexhibition
leafletforDouze
tapisseriesineditesexecuteesdans les AteliersTabarda'Aubussonin
1952at theGalerieDenise RenethatLe Corbusierfirstairedhis conis notan archaicnotion.It is no longerout of
cept:"Moderntapestry
fashion.Today'stapestryis and will be themuralofthenomad.The
paintedmuralonerollsandcarriesunderone'sarm.Weareall nomads
livingin rentedapartments
andin futureunitesdhabitation."
Bybeingdescribedas a warmskinorskein(epiderme)underthecaressofthehand,muraltapestry
cametofunctionas a tactilecorrective
in thearguments
ofthosewho favoreda New Humanismin modern
architecture
overtheincreasingopticalcoldnessoftheInternational
theMuralnomadwenthand-in-hand
withthe
Style.ForLe Corbusier,
use ofsculpturalformsandroughconcrete("betonbrut")in hisbuildingsduringthe 1950s.
Whileart(i.e. painting)magazineslike Cahiersd'art,Cimaise,or
Vervechosetoignoretapestry,
thelaypresswas readytowax lyricalat
at theMusee d'ArtModernein the
thetimeofLurcat'sretrospective
summerof1958.The CommunistdailyL'humanite&
eagerto distance
itselffromSocialist Realistpaintingafterthe mixed success of Picasso'sMassacrein Koreaat theSalon de Mai of 1951 and Louis Aragon'sdevastatingdismissalofAndreFougeron'smural-sizeCivilisationatlantiqueat theSalond'Automneof1953,ranan ecstaticreview
deJeanLurcat,"
oftheshow.The article,entitled"L'Epopeemagistrate
calledLurcatone ofthegreatestartistsofhis time.Intenttorevivethe
gloryyearsof the FrenchCommunistParty,when the partytook it
uponitselfat thetimeoftheLiberationto standforResistantFrance
as "le partidesfusilles,"thereviewergavea prominent
placetoa quote
in 1954.
froma poembyRobertDesnoswovenbyLurcatintoa tapestry
20. See Lurcatand JacquesLevron,L'ApocalypsedAngers(Angers:J.Boutin"Au
Masqued'Or,"1955).
116
YaleFrenchStudies
Desnos,whohadperishedon 8 June1945in theconcentration
campof
Terezin,hadwritteninhispoementitledHommageau mortsde la Resistanceet de la deportation(Hommageto thedeadoftheResistance
and thedeportation):
Jevoussaluevousquidormez
Apresle durtravail
clandestin
derails
Imprimeurs,
d6boulonneurs
Distributeurs
detracts,
contrebandiers
Jevoussaluevoustousquiresistez.
I saluteyouwhosleep
After
thehardclandestine
work
Printers,
railway
saboteurs
Tractdistributors,
smugglers
I saluteallofyouwhoresist.21
The reviewerendedbypraisingLurcatforreminding
us,inhismostrecent endeavors,of the ever-looming
menace of atomicwarfare.The
in theshowwereLurcat'slatestworks,La grandemenfirsttapestries
ace, Le grandcharnier,L'hommed'Hiroshima,La fin de tout and
L'hommeen gloiredans la paix, all ofwhichbelongedto a cycleentitledLe chantdu monde.Whencompleted,thistapestrycycle,made
outofseparatepiecesmeanttobe strung125metersacross(500square
meters)was obviouslydesignedto competewith Lurcat'sbeloved
ApocalypsedAngers.In his weeklycolumnin Le monde,the wellknownRenaissancearthistorianAndreChastelavoidedtheapocalyptic Cold WarrhetoricfavoredduringthoseyearsbyL'humanite.22
Yet
size oftheworkson display,he endedup
overlookingthe staggering
in L'humanite:
soundingalmost as enthusiasticas the counterpart
"Whowouldhavepredictedtwenty-five
yearsagothatLurcatwouldbe
in themostofficial
ofmodhonoredbya majorretrospective
sanctuary
"23
ernart?
Once again,ittookan Americancritic,AnnetteMichelson,reviewingtheshowin her"Pariscolumn"forTheNew YorkHeraldTribune,
tocommenton thelackofproportion
between"thisminorrenaissance
ofFrenchtapestry"as she termedit,and "thealmostgrotesqueenor21. Juliette
Darle,"L'Epop6emagistrate
de JeanLurcat,"L'humanit6(28 July1958).
Nonpaginatedexcerpt(Paris:Archivesdu Mus6e National d'ArtModerne,Centre
GeorgesPompidou).
22. On thepopularreverberations
La
ofthatrhetoric
see Frangois
Fonvielle-Alquier,
grandepeurde 1'apres-guerre
1946-53 (Paris:RobertLaffont,
1973).
23. Andr6Chastel,"L'oeuvrede JeanLurcat,"Le monde(1 August1958).
Ilk
l~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Figure8. JeanLurcat,"The ConquestofSpace,"ca. 1957.Aubussontapestry,
7.14
Paris.Reprinted
in JeanLurcatandDenis Clavel,Les tapisseriesdu Chantdu Mo
Gardet,1963).
118
YaleFrenchStudies
mityin scale andartisticambition"thatwentintoit.Pointingto Lurcat's "condescensionto a conventionthatsuggestschic illustration
ratherthanpopularimagery,"Michelsonbeganby debunkingtapestry'srecentlyearnedleftwing
credentials:
Thescale,theinventive
poweroftheiconography,
thecraftsmanship
arealmoststupefying;
theybullyoneintosubmission,
andone'sconmustbe at leastpartly
understood
as a
sequentcautiousresistance
function
oftheirstaggering
Cosmicaspiration
ofthiskind
enormity.
cropsup nowandagainin Cartesian
France.AmongLurcat'sweaknessesisa tendency
toward
a disastrous
inflation.
Thisis,ofcourse,
the
pricethata notquitefirst
ratesensibility
willpayfora heaven-vaultingambition.24
called forthby
Sweepingaside fictionsofarchitectural
functionality
suchconceptsas theMuralnomad,she squarelyrepositioned
tapestry
withinthe registerof the decorative."The functionof tapestryhas
shrunkto thatofa staticand exclusivelyvisual object.These hangingswill neverbe used like thefabricsofNicolas Batailleor Baudoin
de Bailleulas battlestandardsor to shelterchillyclericsfromdrafts"
(Michelson).
The spectacleofthesemanytapestries
hungon thecurvedwalls of
theMusee d'ArtModerne(a neoclassicalbuildingdesignedin 1937as
to
partofthehugeNew Trocaderocomplex)is certainlydisconcerting
is thefactthatLurcat'stapestries,
imagine.Even moredisconcerting
with theirarchetypalfigures,mythicalbeasts,and astrologicalemblems caughtin cosmic explosionsof acid colorson black grounds,
lookeduncannilylike Pollock'swebs (Fig.8). Forit is ironicthatCassou had scheduledLurcat'sshowin his museumon theveryeve ofthe
New YorkMOMA's New AmericanPainting.The showlandedat the
1959likea truebombshell,
Musee Nationald'ArtModernein January
withJacksonPollock'snamewrittenall overit.
24. AnnetteMichelson,"The TapestriesofJeanLurcat,"TheNew YorkHeraldTribune(13July1958).Clippingfoundin theLurcatfileoftheArchivesde MuseeNational
d'ArtModerne.