Paul JOUVE(1878-1973 Lot n° 23

Black Panther, 1908 Pencil on Japan paper Signed and located "Amsterdam" lower left 33 x 52 cm History: It was in 1904 during a trip to the Antwerp Zoo that the idea of illustrating Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book took shape.In March 1906 the first contract for the illustration of the book was signed.In 1907 Jouve was awarded the scholarship of the General Government of Algeria and as such, he was admitted to stay two years at the Villa Abd-el-Tif. With Léon Cauvy, they will be the first boarders. In 1908, the illustration of the Jungle Book having been delayed, Jouve decides to devote more time to it. At the beginning of 1908, he makes a trip to the Amsterdam zoo to find subjects for illustrations. He makes this drawing among others, then in the spring returns to Algiers where he continues to work on the illustration of the book. At the end of 1908, Jouve organises an exhibition in Algiers to show the first drawings chosen for the illustration of The Jungle Book. This drawing is the basis of one of the plates chosen to illustrate the Book by Rudyard Kipling (pages 245 and 305). This work appears on the wall, on a period photograph showing Jouve and Cauvy in the studio of the Abd-el-Tif villa. Dominique suisse Bibliography - L'Art Décoratif", March 1910 - Félix Marcilhac, "Paul Jouve, vie et œuvre", Les éditions de l'Amateur, Paris 2005, similar work reproduced on page 113 and on page 44 for the period photograph showing the work on the wall of the studio of the villa Abd-el-Tif Collection: The Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris has a very similar drawing in its collections, dating from the same period Exhibition: Exhibition Paul Jouve. "First drawings for the Jungle Book" Artist's studio, Jardin d'Essai, Algiers. From December 18th to January 19th 1909. Photo ©Dominique Suisse Paul Jouve and Léon Cauvy in the studio of the villa Abd-el-Tif, Algiers, 1908. Punctuated on the wall, the drawing of the panther."