The Embassy Art Collection

In accordance with French legislation, 1 percent of the Embassy's construction budget was allocated for commissioning three works of art for permanent exhibit (a tapestry by Manessier, a painting by Olivier Debré and a sculpture by Ipousteguy). Other works displayed at the Embassy are part of the French National Fund for Contemporary Arts. This is a collection of works by French artists purchased by the Government and lent to museums, public buildings and French embassies worldwide.

Ipousteguy's "A la lumière de chacun" ("Dedicated to Everyone's Insight") is a gilded statue set in the center of a small fountain in front of the Maison française. The artist chose this location because he wanted the statue to be bathed in sunlight for as much of the day as possible. The work, completed in 1983, is one of three Ipousteguys exhibited in Washington; the other two ("David and Goliath" and "Man Entering the Door") are installed in the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden of the Smithsonian Institution.

Born in 1920, Jean Robert, aka Ipousteguy,studied painting from 1938 to 1947 under Robert Lesbounit in Paris. In 1953, he turned to sculpture and in 1956 received the encouragement of sculptor Henri-Georges Adams, who invited him to exhibit in the Salon de Mai art show in Paris. He pursued his research with various materials as he moved from strongly abstract forms to constructions incorporating human figures in posed or simple everyday positions. Dislocated parts regrouped into monumental compositions are a recurring element of his work, giving his style a very personal, lyrical dimension.

"The Welcome" (1984), a large colorful tapestry designed by Alfred Manessier, dominates the Building A entrance hall. Born in 1911, Manessier first studied architecture. It was later, under the influence of Roger Bissiere, that he became interested in painting. His paintings, with strong black lines outlining patches of dark colors, were initially representational and reflected his inclination for architecture. He later moved toward abstract expressionism, abandoning his graphic constructions, putting colors in direct contact and working in progressively lighter tones. Since 1948, Manessier has created tapestries and stained glass windows, primarily for churches; this work has made him a leading figure in contemporary sacred arts.

Vasarely's "V.P. 108" decorates the Building B reception hall. In typical Vasarely style, geometrically arranged colors of blue, purple and black convey a sense of movement: One side of the tapestry looks convex, the other concave.

Born in 1908 in Hungary, Victor Vasarely studied at Budapest's Muhely graphic arts school, which was then strongly influenced by the famous Bauhaus school of design in Weimar, Germany. In 1930, Vasarely came to Paris, where he worked as a commercial artist while researching the optical impressions produced by lines and geometrical figures, like those associated with checkerboards. For a time he studied natural phenomena, such as cracks in ceramic tiles or sea pebbles, then in 1951 he began experimenting with exact, mathematically calculated forms enhanced with pure colors.

He finally succeeded in creating the illusion of movement. Movement, or kinetics, is the essence of optical art (or op-art), and Victor Vasarely is regarded as a leading figure of that genre. In 1955, he published his theories in "Le Manifeste Jaune."

Among the other works of art currently displayed at the Embassy is a reproduction of the 19th-century painting "Rochambeau and Washington Giving Final Orders Before the Attack on Yorktown," by Auguste Couder (1790-1873). The original is in the Museum of French History at the Palace of Versailles. Hungon the ground floor of Building A, this painting pays tribute to the longstanding friendship between France and America.

Maison Française houses the rest of the Embassy's art. In the entrance hall is Olivier Debré's "The Long Ocher Flow of the River Loire" (1983), a large-scale painting of a delicate, yellow haze. Debré has often been described as an "abstract landscapist." This work, a serene, monochromatic vista broken by violent colors around the edge, was inspired by his native Loire Valley.

The Loire has a sandy bottom, and although it is a wide, bucolic river, it is not navigable. This may account for the dangerous "crags" and "dunes" at the top of the painting, with the water above. In the upper left corner is a perfectly realistic image of a tiny green leaf floating on the Loire, seen from above. The thick yellow haze is not quite impenetrable: In the distance are colors, shapes, and images of the Loire Valley that might not be apparent at first glance.

Also on display in the Maison Française are the following: