Lot 12

The Blackman Trust
Private collection, Melbourne
Private collection, Melbourne, acquired from the above

RELATED WORK:
Charles Blackman, The Garden of Carnavalet 1970-71, wool tapestry woven at Portalegre, Portugal in 1971, 213 x 426cm, Private collection, Melbourne
(Shapcott, T., The Art of Charles Blackman, Andre Deutsch, 1989, pl. no. 128 (illus.))

Charles Blackman, Carnavalet 1971, ink and wash on paper, 58 x 79cm, in the collection of the Maitland Regional Art Gallery, accession no. 2008.092 (donated by Charles Blackman through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program, 2008)

While living in Paris in 1970, Blackman worked on creating tapestries, inspired by visits to the Cluny Museum and to chateaux in the Loire Valley. Prior to the creation of the tapestries, Blackman would make artworks in ink and wash on paper which served as preparatory works for the tapestries. One of the tapestries, 'The Garden of the Carnavalet' was inspired by a balcony view of the knot garden in the courtyard of the Musée Carnavalet in Paris. The garden was part of his daily walk while working in Paris, during his stay at the Moya Dyring studio at the Cité Internationale des Arts.

The original designs for the tapestries were made in Paris and the weaving was done at the workshops of Tapecarias de Portalegre in Portalegre, Portugal. Each tapestry took four months to weave and between the period of October 1970 and September 1971, six were created. During this time, Blackman visited the workshop four times to learn about the weaving techniques and collaborate with the artisans as they brought his designs to life.

© Charles Blackman/Copyright Agency, 2025