Louis le Brocquy, H.R.H.A.

Taylor Galleries, Dublin, where purchased by the mother of the present owner and thence by descent

Limerick, The Hunt Museum, Louis le Brocquy, Allegory & Legend, 16 June - 24 September 2006 (another version)

Dorothy Walker, Louis le Brocquy, Dublin, 1981, p.29;
Taylor Galleries, Dublin, Louis le Brocquy, Tapestries, exh. cat., 2000, illustrated (another version), (n.p.);
The Hunt Museum, Limerick Louis le Brocquy, exh. cat., 2006, illus. p.75 (another version)

Not lined. Velcro attached across the top for hanging purposes (with separate batten with strip of matching Velcro). With an additional woven tab overlapping on the reverse of lower left corner, woven with monogram initials RD 2/9 in black on ivory ground. Selvedge tucked under on left and right vertical sides. The wool threads when at the end hang loose at intervals on the reverse and have not been woven into the design (and it is therefore not reversible). Slightly faded colour overall, but as black and ivory, not very obvious on reverse, and certainly appearance of even balanced colour on the front. There are some cotton stitches visible on reverse around outlines of main design, which is commensurate with the technique as just joins the splits on the colour joins where not interlocked. The wool threads when at the end hang loose at intervals on the reverse and have not been woven into the design (and it is therefore not reversible). There is a lovely effect of using the end of threads along the upper and lower horizontal edges, in a form of blanket stitch on the reverse. Colours evenly faded overall, otherwise in overall very good and stable condition, recently cleaned.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Cherub was commissioned in 1951 by Mrs S.H. Stead as part of a series of tapestries, adaptable as a screen, rug and firescreen, on the theme of Adam and Eve. The resultant tapestries have become known as the Eden series. The largest of the series, the screen, Adam and Eve in the Garden (1951-52), depicts Adam and Eve separated in their own halves of the tapestry with Eve reaching for the apple. Eden (1952), the second largest in the series, focuses on the serpent writhing around the composition, the eaten apple at its centre. The last and smallest of the series, Cherub is rather more prophetic with the cherub's arms outstretched in the crucifix position and the stigmata evident on the hands. As in Adam and Eve in the Garden an eye stares out from the background, a reminder of God's omniscience and omnipotence.

The design of Cherub demonstrates not only the influence of analytical and synthetic cubism but also the direction and teaching of Jean Lurçat. Lurçat crucially introduced le Brocquy to the technique of designing tapestries purely with a stylized line drawing, as opposed to a full colour cartoon, which used a numbered code to represent the different coloured yarns.

Although le Brocquy's earliest tapestries were commissioned and woven in Edinburgh by 1950 the artist has begun an association with the 17th Century weavers, Tabard Frères & Soeurs in Aubusson, France, who produced the original Eden series. In 2000 another Aubusson firm, Atelier René Duché, produced a colour inverted version of the Eden series tapestries using original Lurçat inspired designs that le Brocquy had produced in 1952. In the forward to the accompanying catalogue the artist noted that 'as we enter the third millennium, it is perhaps not inappropriate for us to reflect on our origins beyond the Christian era; to the imaginative legend of Adam and Eve in the garden of nature, of the awakening of human consciousness, the birth of the mind' (le Brocquy, May 2000 in Louis Le Brocquy, Aubusson Tapestries, exh.cat, Taylor Galleries, Dublin 2000 & Agnew's, London 2001).