A Moderne Movement carpet,
designed by Paule Leleu (1906-87), French, circa 1950.
Signed: Leleu, in the corner.
10ft 5in x 9ft 2in : 317cm x 280cm
Paule Leleu was taught design by her father, Jules Leleu (1883-1961), the artist designer and head of the family decoration business. She became an apprentice when her father contracted carpets from Ivan da Silva Bruhns and her early work shows the influence of Bruhns in colour, design and motifs. In 1937, after the contract had ended, Paule joined her father and designed all the firm’s carpets in her own style.
Her commissions ranged from palaces (Elysée Palace), to ocean liners (Atlantic, Normandy, Antilles, Pierre Loti) and there are examples of her carpets in the Mobilier National, the Musée d’art Moderne in Paris and in numerous American museums. The present carpet of rare colour combination and squarish format has a design of Aztec influence and with a crenellated border, perhaps after her archaeological trips.
Yvonne Brunhammer (1927-2021), was the former director of the Union des Arts Decoratifs, Paris and director of the Museum of Fashion. She was an important and influential figure in the promotion of the Art Deco period through numerous exhibitions and books that she wrote and is considered one of the great authorities on the French 20th century decorative arts.
Provenance
Yvonne Brunhammer, Paris, France.
Literature
F. Siriex, The House of Leleu, Hudson Hills Press, 2008, p356 and 357, similar illustrated.
