Jean Després (1889-1980) Large Modernist Art Deco Vase H. 48 Cm

Jean Després (1889-1980) Important Art Deco silverware circa 1930-40 (height 47 cm X 17 cm wide) presenting an elegant Modernist structure in hammered silver metal bearing the engraved signature of J.Desprès on the terrace decorated with a decoration of pearls arranged in a circle from which rises a fluted column foot supporting an oblong basin flanked by lanceolate handles ending in a volute. Note on one side an inscription in relief Art Deco graphics "Trophée de la ville de Seignelay" commune of Yonne residence of Jean Després Jean Després (1889-1980) is one of the most innovative artists of the 1920s and 1930s in the fields of jewelry and goldsmithing. At 16, he left Avallon and his parents' gift shop to begin his apprenticeship with a goldsmith in Paris. He completed his training with drawing classes at the schools of the City of Paris and frequented the Bateau-Lavoir, where he met Modigliani, Picasso, Signac, De Chirico and, above all, Braque, who soon became his "best friend". Després worked mainly with silver, whose whiteness, very fashionable in the 1930s, was barely altered by the few touches added by semi-precious stones such as onyx, coral, turquoise, lapis lazuli or chalcedony, for prices that remain affordable in this period of acute economic crisis, even if he does not disdain to make jewelry works to order, based on precious stones and metals. The artist has retained from his time in the workshops of the military aviation during the war of 1914-1918 an interest in mechanical forms that he transposes into his jewelry. From 1930, he created "engine jewelry" where we find all the vocabulary of mechanics: "connecting rod" brooch, "crankshaft" brooch, "cam" bracelet, etc. So many pieces whose mechanically inspired forms aroused in 1931, at the exhibition "Aeronautics and Art" in the Marsan pavilion, an interest mixed with scandal. Like other artists of his time, Després weaves exchanges with the world of art. With Étienne Cournault (1891-1948), a painter and engraver who was fond of working on glass, he designed the "glazed jewels" in silver and glass between 1929 and 1934, masterpieces of grace and originality. These compositions, which play on reflections, on effects of transparency and light, were very popular, notably with Joséphine Baker. With Jean Mayodon (1893-1967), future director of the Manufacture de Sèvres, from 1937 he mounted the ceramic plaques, mainly of neoclassical inspiration, on his famous "ceramic jewels". Després' participation in the 1925 Exhibition remained anonymous, but from 1928 he exhibited in all the official Salons. As early as 1931, the critic Raymond Escholier wrote: "Després is on the way to becoming the greatest of jewelers, the greatest goldsmith. » Després is also one of the undisputed masters of the revival movement of tableware and religious goldwork. His pitchers, teapots, candelabras, cutlery, mainly in pewter, but also in silver, vermeil or silver-plated metal, which he hammers himself, are characterized by their simple forms, their harmonious volumes, their sober ornamentation. Well represented in the Decorative Arts collection thanks to a major donation from the artist, the work of Jean Després will open the exhibition for this first retrospective dedicated to him. Also on display are the liturgical objects and bindings that the goldsmith made in the 1960s.