Bookends Of A Couple Of Fishermen By Yvonne Jean-haffen - Brittany

Henriot manufacture in polychrome earthenware, circa 1930. Chip at the bottom of the back of the female subject, restorable. Height 15 cm, length 16 cm.

Yvonne Jean-Haffen (1895-1993) Born into a family from the east of France, Yvonne Haffen showed an early interest in the graphic arts, which she studied at a public school. After the war, her passion for drawing led her to attend classes at La Grande Chaumière and then, encouraged by her husband Edouard Jean, to work in the studio of the painter Auguste Leroux. This initial training enabled her to take part in the Salon des Artistes Français in 1924 and 1925.

But in 1923, she met the painter, decorator and illustrator Mathurin Méheut. It was through him that she discovered the pure forms of Art Deco at the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels in Paris. From then on, she devoted herself passionately to drawing, painting, wood and linoleum engraving, illustration and ceramics.

In 1926, thanks to Mathurin Méheut, she also discovered Brittany, where she spent a number of periods from then on. Her roots in Brittany were confirmed when, in 1936, she bought ‘La Grande Vigne’ in the port of Dinan. In 1925, she began working with the Henriot earthenware factory in Quimper, where she remained until around 1950. She also produced ceramic pieces for Parisian ceramists and at the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres. Her shaped pieces were influenced by the regionalist movement of the time.

Although Brittany was certainly one of her favourite subjects, she also worked extensively in Paris, in the provinces and abroad. She exhibited at the 1931 Colonial Exhibition, the 1937 International Exhibition and, as an individual, at the Maison de la Bretagne (1957) and in galleries (Galerie Charpentier in 1933). She also illustrated several books.
Although recognised as a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres and holder of the Collier de l'Hermine, from the 1970s onwards she focused more on perpetuating the memory of Mathurin Méheut than on promoting her personal work. In 1987, she donated an exceptionally rich heritage to the town of Dinan. Yvonne Jean-Haffen died in Dinan after a rich artistic life.