Gilles Hédal

Among the oral traditions of 34 boulevard de Clichy, the one concerning Gilles Hédal has a particular flavour: the weaver, in the courtyard-studio of a Parisian artist colony, is an unusual figure. The residents' memories place his settlement at studio 9, at the back of the courtyard, in one of the quietest spaces of the building — one whose light and silence suit equally well painting and patient textile work.

Weaving — a patient craft

Weaving is one of the oldest crafts: it consists in interlacing warp and weft threads on a loom to make fabric, carpet or tapestry. Depending on the loom's arrangement, one speaks of high-warp (vertical loom) or low-warp (horizontal loom). The most prestigious lissiers are trained at the national manufactures — Gobelins in Paris, Beauvais, Savonnerie and Aubusson — which transmit centuries-old skills. Other weavers work in independent workshops, either interpreting contemporary artists' cartoons or developing their own textile language.

A complementary discipline in the courtyard-studio

The presence of a weaving studio at n°34 considerably enriches the diversity of artistic practices of the courtyard. Over a hundred and fifty years, the 34 has welcomed painters (Manet on the ground floor, Dargaud, Hella Guth, Sébastienne Marre, Camille Leherpeur), sculptors (Charles Gir, Pierre-Luc Feitu, Jean Ségalat, Christiane Lehérissey), engravers (Eugène Pottier), photographers (Fabrice Minier), illustrators and caricaturists (Charles Gir again), directors (François Gir), book designers (Camille Boisaubert) — but weaving is, to our knowledge, the only attested case of a textile craft at this address. This gives studio 9 a documentary singularity within the palette of n°34.

Studio 9 — at the back of the courtyard

According to the traditional numbering of the n°34 studios, studio 9 sits in the second courtyard, at the back, among the ground-floor artist studios. This numbering, which probably runs from 1 to 12 or more, is attested by the residents' oral memory and by the architectural arrangement of the place: Pierre-Luc Feitu occupied studio 7; Hella Guth studio 6; Frédéric Tellier studio 12 (oral tradition reported by his production company). Studio 9, located within this same sequence, shares the same constructive features: shed-glazed roof, mezzanine, terracotta floor, exposed beams — all elements that make these spaces ideal places for patient manual practices, whether painting, sculpture or weaving.

A memory to be completed

No public trace of Gilles Hédal has so far been found in the databases accessible online (catalogues of the Mobilier national, the Gobelins, Aubusson, the Centre national des arts plastiques, public collections). This discretion may be due to several factors: craft rather than exhibited contemporary art, private commissions not catalogued, period of activity not yet documented. This entry is therefore deliberately minimal: it attests the presence of a weaver at studio 9, faithfully to the oral tradition that has preserved its memory, and remains open to further information that could be brought by former residents, family, or any researcher working on textile artist studios in Pigalle.

Pigalle, a textile territory

It is interesting to note that the Pigalle and lower-Montmartre district long hosted textile activities — small dressmakers, embroidery workshops, passementerie factories — which formed the economic background of the great neighbouring music halls and theatres (stage costumes, feathers, cabaret lingerie). The presence of a weaving studio at 34 boulevard de Clichy belongs, modestly, to this Parisian textile tradition — less visible than painters' studios but just as present in the district's craft ecosystem.

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