DOM ROBERT, born Guy de CHAUNAC LANZAC
b. Nieuil-l'Espoir (Vienne), Decembre 15th, 1907
d. Dourgne (Tarn), May 10th, 1997

Dom Robert was born Guy de Chaunac Lanzac in 1907. He is one of the masters of contemporary tapestry artwork. His artistic and religious vocations found fulfillment at the Benedictine Abbey of En Calcat. Located in Dourgne (Tarn), France, Dom Robert entered the Abbey in 1930. Eleven years later, Dom Robert met Jean Lurçat who was very impressed with Robert's early works, illuminations, and watercolors. This exchange sealed Dom Robert's destiny as a cartoon painter. His works of art were woven in Aubusson, first in the weaving workshop of Tabard and then in the one owned by and named after Suzanne Goubely. Between 1947 and 1958, Dom Robert continued his art work at the Buckfast monastery in England. It was distributed by the major art galleries, such as La Demeure in Paris, enjoying more widespread success as the years went by. Upon his return to En Calcat in 1958, Dom Robert found a fruitful vein of inspiration in the surrounding natural environment, resulting in a steady stream of tapestry creations until 1994 when a fall forced him to cease his artistic activities. He died at En Calcat in 1977.