PAINTINGS UNDERFOOT

WITH leading European artists already branching out into ceramics, stained glass and tapestries, it was only a question of time before their art would wind up on the floor. Last week Chicago's Art Institute was offering a look at that brightly decked future: 13 limited-edition (ten copies of each) rugs designed by such artists as Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Jean Lurc,at, the late Fernand Leger and U.S. Mobile Sculptor Alexander Calder.

The artists' prompter in this case was Manhattan Gallery Owner Madeleine Chalette-Lejwa, who commissioned their sketches, had them woven by Provenc,al weavers. Her one predictable surprise: Picasso had thought up the idea before her, had already designed a rug (known as Alenc,on, for its type of weaving, but which he entitled The Keyhole) to decorate the floor of his villa at Cannes. Well pleased with the first results, Madeleine Chalette-Lejwa is sure the idea will catch on. Says she: "In the old days art had a much more functional character than it has today. Ceramics were placed on the table, and people ate out of plates and cups fashioned by artists. We decided to get prominent modern artists to design rugs which people could hang on the walls if they liked, or could actually put on the floor." The price for Leger's 7 ft. 7 in. by 3 ft. 9 in. #9 is $700, for Miro's Spanish Dancers $800; Picasso's thick-piled 6 ft. 6 in. by 4 ft. 9 in. contribution costs an even $1,000.

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