Pieta for World War 1, Tapestry for the Centenary

The Cité as produced the only commemorative tapestry for the Centenary of the First World War. A project of massive tapestry in partnership with the National Monument of Hartmannswillerkopf (Haut-Rhin) Comity, which has “fallen from the loom” in June 2017 after almost a year of weaving.

Thanks to the patronage of the Groupe Würth, the Cité international integrated in its collections a sketch of the German painter Thomas Bayrle (born in 1937), a Pop Art pioneer. The artwork has been unveiled on Thursday, 24^th March 2016 in Aubusson, in the presence of M. Jean-Marc Todeschini, secretary of State responsible for the Veterans and the Memory.

This poignant Pieta, consisting in a multitude of skulls, will give birth to an immense tapestry of more than 20 m2, named Pietà for the World War I. It will constitute one of the iconic works of the centenary of the Great War, destined to be displayed during the National Monument of Hartmannswillerkopf opening ceremony. This work fits in the labeled project by the “Mission du Centenaire de la Première Guerre mondiale”, an public interest group created in 2012.

The weaving of this major piece has been entrusted the “Atelier Patrick Guillot”. It began in June 2016 in a workshop dedicated to special orders within the Cité internationale and the work has “fallen from the loom” on June, 9^th 2017. The 21 m2 tapestry develops different techniques and materials to create the optical illusion and the embossed design of the Virgin Mary holding the Christ: cotton, wool, silk, viscose, by way of textured polyester fibers, worn out by the external tapestry prototype, to create the white colored eyes of the Pieta.

A French-German project for a common duty of remembrance

The Centenary tapestry project has been progressively built by a process of partnership between the Monument of Hartmannswillerkopf Comity and the Cité internationale.

The inherent qualities of the tapestry medium – nomadism, immersive and narrative universe, long-lasting communicative media – answers the will the create a peripatetic work. Indeed, this one will be displayed in the future French-German history museum in the Hartmannswillerkopf, Alsace, from its inauguration in Aubusson, its place of production. It will be exposed in different sites of WWI German and French front or in institutions, dedicated to this same theme.

This project received the support of the “Mission du centenaire de la Première Guerre mondiale”, the Groupe Würth, La France mutualiste and the national Federation André Maginot.

Thomas Bayrle was born in 1937 in Berlin. He lives and works in Frankfurt. His works have integrated, amongst others, the Modern Art Museum of Frankfurt, the Art Museum of Stuttgart, the MOCA of Los Angeles, the FNAC in Puteaux and the FRAC in the Limousin. Its pictural productions are part of the Pop Art. They consist in the repetition of a motive variable in size, reflected to represent itself, playing then on the optical sensations of the spectators.

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Discover the works of Thomas Bayrle on http://www.airdeparis.com/artists/thomas-bayrle/.