Les Vierges Folles (The Foolish Virgins)
Material: wool tapestry manufactured by Atelier Tabard
Dimensions: 99 x 71 in. (252 x 180 cm)
Date: 1942
Detailed information
Marc Saint-Saëns “Les Vierges Folles” Tapestry
Marc Saint-Saëns “Les Vierges Folles” (The Foolish Virgins) is a remarkable 1942 wool tapestry woven at the renowned Atelier Tabard in Aubusson, measuring 99 x 71 inches (252 × 180 cm). Conceived during the early revival of modern French tapestry, the work illustrates the biblical parable of the Ten Virgins, contrasting wisdom and folly through expressive figures, symbolic gestures, and a refined decorative rhythm characteristic of Saint-Saëns’ poetic visual language. The artist, a key figure in the twentieth-century renaissance of tapestry alongside Jean Lurçat, developed a style blending medieval inspiration, Mediterranean sensibility, and modern composition, often collaborating with Aubusson workshops to translate his cartoons into textile form. Woven with traditional techniques and subtle color harmonies, Les Vierges Folles reflects both narrative depth and technical mastery, embodying the cultural heritage of Aubusson tapestry while asserting the renewed artistic status of textile art in post-war France.
Detailed information
Marc Saint-Saëns “Les Vierges Folles” Tapestry
Marc Saint-Saëns “Les Vierges Folles” (The Foolish Virgins) is a remarkable 1942 wool tapestry woven at the renowned Atelier Tabard in Aubusson, measuring 99 x 71 inches (252 × 180 cm). Conceived during the early revival of modern French tapestry, the work illustrates the biblical parable of the Ten Virgins, contrasting wisdom and folly through expressive figures, symbolic gestures, and a refined decorative rhythm characteristic of Saint-Saëns’ poetic visual language. The artist, a key figure in the twentieth-century renaissance of tapestry alongside Jean Lurçat, developed a style blending medieval inspiration, Mediterranean sensibility, and modern composition, often collaborating with Aubusson workshops to translate his cartoons into textile form. Woven with traditional techniques and subtle color harmonies, Les Vierges Folles reflects both narrative depth and technical mastery, embodying the cultural heritage of Aubusson tapestry while asserting the renewed artistic status of textile art in post-war France.
