Composition
Aubusson tapestry woven in the Pinton workshop.
With label.
Circa 1960.
As a young painter moving towards abstraction in the late 40s, Longobardi was commissioned to paint large-scale murals in France and abroad (the presidency of the Republic of Abidjan, the rectorate of the Poitiers Academy, etc.), as well as numerous tapestry cartoons, in particular for the Manufactures Nationales, with sometimes very modern subjects (‘l’autostrade’, ‘l’aéroport’, etc.). Longobardi, along with Singier and Springer, was one of the very first abstract artists to receive public commissions at the time. Although his work was abstract, his aesthetic evolved over time, from sharp forms to a more lyrical style full of movement, until the appeasement of the 1960s. The high point of his meteoric official career came when he was commissioned to create ‘la crique’ for the starboard private dining room of the liner ‘France’. After this, the artist became much rarer.
Our carton is stylistically close to the artist’s latest weavings for the Manufactures Nationales, notably ‘Plein feu’ from 1963-1964.
Bibliography :
Cat. Expo. Le Mobilier National et les Manufactures Nationales des Gobelins et de Beauvais sous la IVe République, Beauvais, Galerie de la Tapisserie, 1997
Armelle Bouchet-Mazas, le paquebot France, éditions Norma, 2006, ill.p.170
Cat. Expo. Le chic ! Arts décoratifs et mobilier de 1930 à 1960, Paris, galerie des Gobelins, 2022-23
