Raoul Dufy (1877-1953) designed this furnishing fabric called ‘La Danse’ for Bianchini-Férier about 1920. It is made of woodblock printed cretonne. Dufy was a painter who had exhibited with the Fauves. He began to design textiles for Paul Poiret in 1911. From 1912 until 1930 he designed woven and printed textiles for the silk manufacturers Bianchini-Férier. He created a range of lively fabrics in bright colours, many of which were bought by leading couturiers such as Lanvin, Patou and Poiret.

‘La Danse’ is part of the ‘Toiles de Tournon’ series, which was made at the Bianchini-Férier factory at Tournon, near Lyon, in the early 1920s. The title of the series reflects Dufy’s aspiration to produce a modern day furnishing fabric in the same vein as Oberkampf’s 18th century toiles de Jouy. These often depicted groups of people interspersed with vegetation. Dufy’s design is also reminiscent of popular prints. Areas of colour are skilfully balanced against a plain background to achieve dynamic repeats in an ostensibly rough-hewn manner. Shortly before Poiret employed him, Dufy had produced woodcuts to illustrate the poet Apollinaire’s volume Le Bestiaire ou Cortège d’Orphée.