Eaux noires

Eaux Noires (Black Waters) is a moody and atmospheric tapestry by Jean Lurçat, woven at the Goubely workshop in Aubusson around 1965. The work follows his 1954 trip to Brazil and reflects a shift toward darker, more introspective compositions rooted in the idea of submerged environments.

The surface is deliberately flattened. Rather than creating depth through perspective, Lurçat builds the image as a layered field of symbols. Set against a deep black ground, the composition reads almost like a wall of forms—direct, immediate, and intentionally non-illusionistic.

The lower portion is dominated by dense, undulating shapes in violet and purple tones. These forms suggest a riverbed or silted terrain, but they never fully resolve into a literal landscape. Embedded within them are skeletal, almost translucent fish, reduced to their essential outlines. The effect is less descriptive than suggestive, focusing on structure and presence rather than surface detail.

Running vertically through the composition is a pale, branch-like form that interrupts the darker mass below. It acts as a stabilizing element, giving the eye a point of orientation while reinforcing the tension between rigidity and fluidity.

Compared to other works from this period, there is a noticeable absence of lighter, airborne elements. The composition remains grounded, even heavy, with everything contained within this darker register. That restraint gives the work its character—it feels contained, inward, and quietly intense.

Eaux Noires presents a different side of Lurçat’s practice. Less radiant, more restrained, it focuses on what lies beneath—where form, pattern, and structure replace surface description, and the composition holds its weight through density rather than movement.