DOM ROBERT (1907-1997) (GUY DE CHAUNAC-LANZAC, KNOWN AS) CARTONNIER & TABARD BROTHERS AND SISTERS LISSIER À AUBUSSON The Black Cat, the creation of the carton in [1969], proof numbered 7, from an edition at 8 copies Large tapestry of basse-lisse. Wools of color. Extreme freshness of colors. Realized in 1971. Signed and dated F. ROBERT 1969 in the weft at the bottom right and bears the monogram of the weaver in the weft at the bottom left, numbered 7 in the weft on the back, complete with its original bolduc, countersigned by the artist, from TABARD Frères & Sœurs Aubusson sewn on the back bearing the handwritten mentions in felt-tip pen of the title Le Chat noir, of the cartonnier Dom ROBERT, of the dimensions and of the matricule 1836. 250 x 130 cm Provenance : - M. and M. R., Paris. Work acquired from the Gallery La Demeure, directed by Denise Majorel, in the early 1970s. - Work remained in the descent of the precedents. Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Mrs. Sophie Guérin Gasc, responsible for the collections of the Dom Robert Museum and the 20th century tapestry of Sorèze (Tarn) and director of the Dom Robert Association in Verdalle for the precious information she gave us about this work. Public collections : Museum Dom Robert and of the tapestry of the XXth century, Sorèze (Tarn) - Another specimen of this tapestry The Black Cat of Dom Robert is preserved in this institution. Bibliography : - Dom Robert, tapestries récentes - Catalogue of the exhibition organized at the Galerie La Demeure, Paris (April - May 1974), Éditions Abbaye d'En Calcat et La Demeure, Paris, 1974. A similar work reproduced on page 29. - Dom Robert, œuvre tissé - Catalogue of the exhibition organized at the Musée Jean Lurçat et de la Tapisserie contemporaine, Angers (30 March - 24 June 1990); and at the Musée Départemental de la Tapisserie, Aubusson (4 July - 16 September 1990), Éditions des Musées d'Angers, Angers, 1990. A similar work referenced among the tapestries exhibited in the catalog, unpaginated. - Collective - La clef des champs : Dom Robert - Éditions de l'Abbaye d'En Calcat, Dourgne / Éditions Privat, Toulouse, 2003. A similar work reproduced on page 118. - Collective - Les saisons de Dom Robert, tapestries - Éditions de l'Abbaye d'En Calcat, Dourgne / Éditions Hazan, Paris, 2014. A similar work reproduced on page 44; a detail of this one reproduced on page 47. DOM ROBERT (1907-1997) Celebrated as one of the great masters of 20th century tapestry, Dom Robert (1907-1997) - born Guy de Chaunac-Lanzac - was responsible for more than 150 tapestry cartoons, most of which are marked with the motifs of fauna and flourishing flora that he loved so much. He entered the Abbey of En Calcat, in the Tarn, in 1930, and decided to dedicate his life to the Benedictine order. However, his destiny as a religious man soon met his vocation as a cardboard painter. Initiated to painting as a child, and a student of the École des Arts Décoratifs, Dom Robert had nevertheless turned away from drawing and had only returned to the language of painting on his arrival at the Benedictine monastery. Devoting himself to watercolor, he produced illuminations, whose decorations already bore witness to the "universe in the making" of the future cartoonist1. Also, his true epiphany took place upon his return from the war, in 1940, when he remained fascinated by the cry of peacocks heard from the yard of a farm. This moment of enlightenment marked a decisive turning point in his work, which would forever be inspired by nature itself. In 1941, Jean Lurçat (1892-1966), another master of contemporary tapestry, discovered a watercolor of peacocks and suggested to the monk that he translate it into the art of weaving - it then became L'Été (1941), his first tapestry, which was followed by the other seasons of the year. Through Lurçat, Dom Robert's works were woven in Aubusson by the Tabard workshop, then by Suzanne Goubely. They were then successfully distributed throughout the world, notably by the famous Parisian gallery La Demeure, founded in 1950 by Denise Majorel, whom she met through François Tabard. Little by little, all religious and human figuration disappeared from Dom Robert's cartoons, to be replaced by representations of nature, which he perceived as inhabited by God. True embodiment of the mystery and beauty of divine creation, plants and animals became the permanent object of his attention. The monk made numerous studies from nature in his notebooks, sketching the fruit of his long hours spent observing the landscapes that surrounded him. His contemplative approach brought together his vocations as a religious and as an artist - Dom Robert's contemplation thus fully embodied both aspects of the definition, namely the act of looking at things and, through it, his union with God. The testimony of his faith thus lay in his