Corneille

Boccara artwork selection by Didier Marien

Works by Corneille in the Boccara Collection

Boccara is pleased to feature the expressive visual language of Corneille (1922–2010), a founding member of the CoBrA movement, through the hand-woven tapestry L’oiseau surplombe la femme. This piece reflects the artist’s celebration of nature and spontaneity, translated into a tactile medium by the skilled artisans of Atelier 3 in Paris. By integrating his signature motifs and bold color palette into the loom, this work offers a vibrant focal point that brings the "painter of summer" aesthetic to contemporary architectural spaces and private collections.

ORIGINS & VISION

About the Artist

Corneille: A Journey Through Color and Myth

Guillaume Cornelis van Beverloo, better known as Corneille (1922–2010), was a seminal figure in postwar European expressionism. As a co-founder of the CoBrA movement in 1948, he advocated for a return to instinctive creativity, drawing heavy inspiration from folk art, children’s drawings, and the uninhibited freedom of the subconscious. His move away from the rigid structures of the academy led to a style defined by bold, gestural outlines and a radiant use of color that earned him the moniker “the painter of summer.” Throughout his career, Corneille’s work remained a dedicated exploration of the natural world, infused with the warmth and light he encountered during his extensive travels through Tunisia, Ethiopia, and Cuba.

The solitary tapestry in the collection, L’oiseau surplombe la femme, serves as a definitive example of his symbolic vocabulary. The composition focuses on two of his most enduring subjects: the bird and the woman. In Corneille’s mythic universe, the bird is a representation of movement and the boundless reach of the imagination, while the female figure serves as an emblem of vitality and the fundamental force of life. By positioning the bird above the figure, he creates a poetic dialogue between the sky and the earth, achieving a visual harmony that balances the aerial with the terrestrial. This “narrative abstraction” captures the immediacy of his drawing style, where form and meaning are seamlessly intertwined.

This work was realized through a close collaboration with Atelier 3 in Paris, a workshop known for its interpretive approach to weaving. Eschewing the mechanical nature of standard cartoons, the weavers worked from the front of the loom, allowing them to translate the vibrant “handwriting” of Corneille’s original design in real time. The resulting textile is a rich interplay of layered wool threads that adds a structural depth to the composition. The variation in the weave ensures that the colors shift subtly with changing light, preserving the vitality of the original drawing while grounding it in the physical warmth of the woven surface.

Corneille’s multidisciplinary impact is reflected in his presence in prestigious institutions such as the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. His legacy is one of universal harmony and a profound love for the beauty of the living world. By merging the ancient craft of the loom with the radical spirit of the CoBrA movement, this tapestry remains a testament to an artist who sought to make the creative impulse a physical and accessible presence in every environment.