Henri HUSSON (1852-1914) Lot n° 21

Gurnard bowl, circa 1906 Silver bowl decorated with a gurnard whose body disappears beneath three water lily leaves, its armored head reappearing on the foam of the water, as does its tail at the tip. Two beetles cling to the wing of the bowl, which ends in a plant-like scroll. Signed on reverse h.husson, foundry stamp Hebrard Paris. Minerve hallmark Weight : 1226,43 g 42 x 30 cm Bibliography - Catalog d'exposition d'orfèvrerie galerie A-A Hébrard rue royale, 50 œuvres originales de H. Husson, mai-juin 1909 - L'Art Décoratif 1906-11-N°098 - L'Art et Les Artistes 1909 N°51 June There are few examples of bowls worked in silver in this way: On one dish, he gives the shape of a shell, a mermaid's head forms the knot of the shell and the hair spreads among the seaweed; on another, he offers an insect on a plant fragment (Two dishes from the Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-arts de la Ville de Paris). Our goblet blossoms in a similarly naturalistic vocabulary, but the presence of the mullet makes it unique in its genre. Husson was particularly drawn to the art of metal; he enjoyed forging, embossing and chiseling it. He demonstrated an exquisite sense of nuance, as seen in the foam of the water or the lively features of the gurnard's snout. The Russian collector Jacques Zoubaloff, a great admirer of the artist whom he compared to the greatest goldsmiths, had succeeded in assembling an important collection of his works. He donated it to the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Paris (Petit Palais) in 1916 and again in 1922, giving the museum the largest collection of works by Henri Husson. The only piece in this collection is a shell-shaped pocketknife by the artist, cast by Adrien Aurélien around 1909, which can be compared to our bowl in form, although it is less rich in sculpture. - Working with silver: In this fine material, Husson improvises charming details (a beetle in our example) reminiscent of Japanese art. Husson worked from nature to find these subjects, yet he used the metal's slightest possibilities to nourish his inspiration. In this way, conception rhymes with execution. - Husson and naturalism: Based near Mantes, Henri Husson lived in the countryside, surrounded by fields and flowers. He collects butterflies and beetles. His works are inspired by the natural world around him, providing him with his main themes. He reproduces, as faithfully as possible, the plants that surround him, as well as insects that seem to have been cast from life, such is their remarkable precision. His creations, close to symbolism and Japonism, borrow from the language of nature. HENRI HUSSON Henri Husson was born in Grand, Vosges, in 1852 and died at the age of 62 in December 1914. He was one of the most singular artists of his time. He worked outside the mainstream of artistic trends and fashions. The son of a locksmith, Husson began by learning his father's trade, and the art of ironwork remained his main vocation. A beautiful key made in secret, shown and sold for three or four louis to an amateur, was the starting point of his career. In the meantime, he attended drawing classes in the evenings, worked on Renaissance-style furniture for contractors, abdicated all individuality and gave up his signature for twenty-seven years, until the day when Hébrard, the foundryman, discerned in him all that was in him of misguided talent, genuine originality and technical reliability, encouraged him and gave him back to himself, so to speak. Thus Henri Husson emerged from anonymity, encouraged by this founder-publisher in the early 1900s, and embarked on a career in goldsmithing. Henri Husson and Hebrard Hebrard is the undisputed master in the art of cooking the epidermis of metals. His collaboration with Husson produced a series of admirable pieces in copper inlaid with silver, bowls in which a branch of bryone curves, the fine structure of a scabiosa spreads out, from which the cambered snout of a gurnard emerges and points. (L'Art Décoratif 1906-11-N°098, probably our cup) Husson exhibited his goldsmith's and silversmith's work at the Salon des Artistes français from 1901, and then every year until 1911. He consistently received rave reviews for his work. Given the quality of its execution, it seems highly likely that our goblet was exhibited at the Paris and Mulhouse Salons in 1908. Indeed, the booklet for the former notes that the silversmith exhibited a "vitrine containing various objets d'art" which "belong to M. Hébrard, foundryman". In 1909, Adrien Hébrard (1865-1937) held his first exhibition at his rue Royale gallery in Paris.