The Breton Clog Maker, Clohars Carnoët, Brittany By Mathurin Méheut

Style: Breton School circa 1930Condition: Very good conditionTechnique: Indian ink and gouache on paperOther: Signed lower right with the usual monogram MMDimensions: 27/22cmDimensions with frame: 44/38cmShipping to France: €25This is an interesting work for several reasons. We find in this work representing a Breton clog maker all of Méheut's talent: a lively and accurate drawing at the service of an ethnographic testimony, this work was used to enrich and illustrate a reference work on the subject "Old Breton Trades". Méheut, son of a carpenter from Lamballe, remained faithful to his original social background all his life. He bears witness in his work to the rapid transformations of rural, maritime, and artisanal activities in Brittany during the first half of the 20th century. He puts his talents as an observer and draftsman to the service of a description of many traditional trades which he senses are destined to disappear: potters, charcoal makers, hoop makers and coopers, tanners, stonemasons and slate workers, tanners... His field surveys provide the material for paintings, decorations, engravings and book illustrations including Old Breton Trades published in 1944: 350 of his Drawings and paintings serve as a backdrop to Florian Le Roy's text, which celebrates the skills of Brittany's artisans." Sources: Denis-Michel BOELL