Marc SAINT-SAENS (1903-1979) in AUBUSSON. "Suns and rain". Wool tapestry signed lower left and monogrammed lower right in the weft by Tabard Frères et Soeurs. Titled, signed and numbered 1956 on the bolduc. Height 205.5 - Width 200 cm Marc Saint-Saëns was born in Toulouse, where he attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts in 1920, before entering the Beaux Arts de Paris in 1923. Initially devoted to fresco, his meeting with Jean Lurçat in early 1940 led him to tapestry cardboard painting, of which he became an excellent ambassador. He played a full part in the Renaissance of French tapestry, alongside Lurçat, Jean Picart Le Doux and Dom Robert. Saint-Saëns worked almost exclusively with the Tabard Frères & Sœurs workshop, which played a decisive role in Aubusson's revival. His background as a fresco artist gave him a perfect grasp of the constraints of mural art, and he distinguished himself from other cartonniers with an elegant style, favoring a refined, colorful and highly decorative approach. Nature is Saint-Saëns' inspiration, as evidenced by our sunflowers, which look like a blazing, radiant sun, while a refreshing rain falls at the end of the tapestry, without disturbing the calm determination of the sniffing dog.