Marie Cuttoli: The Modern Thread from Miró to Man Ray

In 1930s Paris, leading modern artists experimented with tapestry design, thanks to pioneering entrepreneur Marie Cuttoli (1879–1973). Cuttoli lived between Algeria and Paris and collected work by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, and Georges Braque. 

This exhibition traces her career, from her early work in fashion and interiors to her revival of the French tapestry industry. She commissioned the most celebrated artists of her time—Rouault, Léger, Picasso, Braque, Le Corbusier, Man Ray, and Miró, among others—to create designs for the historic tapestry workshops in Aubusson.

By uniting these important paintings and drawings with the resulting tapestry, this exhibition shows their true purpose, revealing modernism’s profound dialogue with the decorative arts.

When a selection of these tapestries toured the US in the 1930s and ’40s, Cuttoli enjoyed the support of Dr. Albert Barnes, who was one of her most vocal advocates and patrons. Fittingly, the Barnes Foundation is the first major American institution to celebrate her visionary approach to art and business.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website

Image: Le Corbusier. Marie Cuttoli, 1936. Oil on cardboard. Courtesy of Fondation Le Corbusier, Paris. © F.L.C. / ADAGP, Paris / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 2020