---
title: "The Mattress Maker in Art"
url: https://le-briand.fr/en/museum/art/
description: "Discover mattress makers and the history of bedding through the eyes of artists who witnessed this traditional craft."
lang: en-US
updated: 2026-09-23
translations:
  fr: https://le-briand.fr/musee/art/
source: https://le-briand.fr/en/museum/art.md
---
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# The mattress maker through artists’ eyes

Published: March 11, 2020

Updated: October 1, 2023

Author: Les Matelassiers Le Briand

## In the visual arts

![wool mattress and box spring | Les Ateliers Le Briand](https://img.le-briand.fr/uploads/2020/03/literie-matelassier-matelas-lain-artiste-maximilien-luce.jpg)

Maximilien Luce, 1858–1941

![wool mattress and box spring | Les Ateliers Le Briand](https://img.le-briand.fr/uploads/2020/03/literie-matelassier-matelas-lain-artiste-francisque-poulbot.jpg)

Illustration by Francisque Poulbot for Léon Frapié’s novel La Maternelle (The Nursery), winner of the 1904 Prix Goncourt

![wool mattress and box spring | Les Ateliers Le Briand](https://img.le-briand.fr/uploads/2020/03/literie-matelassier-matelas-lain-artiste-eugene-atget.jpg)

Eugène Atget, 1857–1927

![wool mattress and box spring | Les Ateliers Le Briand](https://img.le-briand.fr/uploads/2020/03/literie-matelassier-matelas-lain-artiste-auguste-lepere.jpg)

Auguste LEPERE – Cardeuses de matelas au pont Marie (Mattress Wool Carders at the Pont Marie), 1891

![wool mattress and box spring | Les Ateliers Le Briand](https://img.le-briand.fr/uploads/2020/03/literie-matelassier-matelas-lain-artiste-4.jpg)

![wool mattress and box spring | Les Ateliers Le Briand](https://img.le-briand.fr/uploads/2020/03/literie-matelassier-matelas-lain-artiste-3.jpg)

![wool mattress and box spring | Les Ateliers Le Briand](https://img.le-briand.fr/uploads/2020/03/literie-matelassier-matelas-lain-artiste-2.jpg)

![wool mattress and box spring | Les Ateliers Le Briand](https://img.le-briand.fr/uploads/2020/03/literie-matelassier-matelas-lain-artiste-1.jpg)

![wool mattress and box spring | Les Ateliers Le Briand](https://img.le-briand.fr/uploads/2020/03/literie-matelassier-matelas-lain-artiste-auguste-brouet.jpg)

Auguste Brouet, 1872–1941

## When filmmakers turned their cameras on mattress makers

The trade rarely appeared on screen, even when mattress makers were everywhere, on every street corner, from the 19th century to the mid-1960s.

In France, mattress makers were usually relegated to the background in low-budget films such as B movies. They were simply part of the scenery.

There are, however, a few exceptions below that add a distinctive touch to the viewing experience.

[Watch the video “Alice Guy brings the mattress-making trade to the screen in Le Matelas épileptique (The Epileptic Mattress)” on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pB11qSQR1A)

Le Matelas épileptique (The Epileptic Mattress) by Alice Guy – 1906

[Watch the video “Carding wool: a key stage captured by G. Méliès in La Cardeuse de matelas (The Mattress Carder)” on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gecKjJTF08)

Cardeuse de matelas (The Mattress Carder) by Georges Méliès – 1906

Topics covered in this guide

Painters, printmakers, and pioneering filmmakers captured the mattress maker’s hand on canvas and film; to see the craft up close, we invite you to :

[Contact us](https://le-briand.fr/en/contact/)

[Visit us](https://le-briand.fr/en/address/)

…and we will be delighted to show you at the workbench the movements Maximilien Luce, Auguste Lepère, and Georges Méliès captured before us.