What the first carré honoured: the Madeleine–Bastille omnibus, in caricatures from L'Illustration, 12 November 1853; the artist is not recorded. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Brown University Library). The carrés themselves are their artists' copyrighted designs, so no free image of one is shown.
The Hermès carré
What it took directly
- documentedRobert Dumas's first carré, Jeu des omnibus et Dames blanches took from Paris's first public transport line, from the Madeleine to the Bastille"imaginé en 1937 par Robert Dumas – Jeu des omnibus et Dames blanches, hommage à la première ligne parisienne de transports publics reliant Madeleine à la Bastille" Thuy-Diep Nguyen, Challenges (2015), in French
- documentedHugo Grygkar's Paris Modistes took from historic caricatures and prints"Grygkar drew upon a wide range of sources for his work, including historic caricatures and prints. 'Paris Modistes,' which was first issued in 1956, is a good example of this." Victoria and Albert Museum, collection record for Paris Modistes
- documentedAnne Gavarni's Légumes Zoomorphe took from the painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo's heads made of fruit, flowers and fish"The surrealist design references the work of the 16th-century Italian painter Guiseppe Arcimboldo (1526/7-1593) who is famous for his portrait heads composed of flowers, fruit, books, fish and other objects." Victoria and Albert Museum, collection record for Légumes Zoomorphe
What it learned to do
- documentedEvery carré learned from the draughtswomen in Lyon who split each drawing into one transparent sheet per colour"Une fois le croquis validé, celui-ci part pour Lyon où il est pris en main par d'autres dessinatrices qui, penchées sur des tables lumineuses, vont le décomposer sur des feuilles transparentes." Claire Mabrut, Madame Figaro (2007), in French
- documentedThe carré learned from drawings sent in by outsiders: a Texas postman's Pani La Shar Pawnee became a best-seller"C'est ainsi qu'un postier du Texas eut la joie de voir son Indien Pani La Shar Pawnee devenir un best-seller" Claire Mabrut, Madame Figaro (2007), in French
The tradition it sits in
- documentedAnne Gavarni comes from a family of artists: her grandfather Pierre Gavarni was known for painting horses"came from a family of artists. Her grandfather, Pierre Gavarni (1846-1932) was a noted artist, printmaker and sculptor who was particularly known for his paintings of horses" Victoria and Albert Museum, collection record for Légumes Zoomorphe
- documentedThe carré's bridle motif comes from Hermès's equestrian roots"Not surprisingly, given the company's equestrian roots, the 'formal bridle' pattern seen here, is a recurrent theme and has become part of Hermès's signature look." Victoria and Albert Museum, collection record for an Hermès scarf, ca. 1980
- inferredNigel Peake's Promenade au Faubourg (2013) comes from the house's harness-making past"In the corner a groom navigates the scene, trying to locate his horse and carriage." inferred — the V&A record notes both that Hermès began as a harness workshop and that this scarf shows a groom hunting for his horse and carriage; that the groom is a nod to those beginnings is our reading, not the museum's
- documentedThe silk carré comes from Hermès moving from harness into handbags and couture"They released their first leather handbag in 1922 and their first women’s couture collection in 1929. In 1937 Hermès debuted its first silk scarf (carré), which was printed with the design Jeu des Omnibus et Dames Blanches." Victoria and Albert Museum, collection record for Promenade au Faubourg
Where the whole form comes from
- documentedThe Hermès carré comes from Thierry Hermès's harness workshop in Paris"Established in 1837 by Thierry Hermès, Hermès was originally founded as a harness workshop in the Grands Boulevards quarter of Paris." Victoria and Albert Museum, collection record for Promenade au Faubourg
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