Georges Jouve (French, 1910-1964) Anthropomorphic... Lot 12

Georges Jouve (French, 1910-1964) Anthropomorphic lamp, c. 1953 Rare lamp base in white glazed ceramic and black oxides, signed and monogrammed. Height: 45 cm. Electrified. Total height with socket: 50.5 cm. Provenance : bought before 1954 and offered in 1983 as a wedding present to the present owner by her husband, Wissous. Bibliographical references: - Philippe and Patricia Jousse, " Georges Jouve ", Paris, Jousse Entreprise éditions, 2005, model presented on the exhibition stand of Marion Bestyl, Sydney p.285 and sketch of the model reproduced p.307. - Michel Faré, " Jouve céramiste ", edition Art et Industrie, 1965, p.77 for a piece in the same spirit. - Several comparable lamps on the art market: on the website of the Galerie Chastel- Maréchal in Paris in 2017; a small model at Phillips de Pury & Company, London on April 28, 2010 under n° 67; this same large model at Sotheby's, New York, on December 17, 2009, n°275; at Rouillac, Tours, on September 22, 2017, n°8; at Christie's, New York, December 9, 2021, n°33. This anthropomorphic lamp by Georges Jouve responds to the artist's implicit rule that "everything in nature is organized around the cone, the sphere and the cylinder", since circular forms are, as with Cézanne, at the heart of his creation. However, the succession of the four circles is not perfect. Jouve thus abandons the lathe to model the material, like the sculptor. His preparatory drawing prefigures, through the vivacity of his lines, the expression of the final work. The black and white enamel brings a sense of peace, reminiscent of Georges Jouve's own wardrobe: in the city, a white jacket and black shirt; in the studio, a black sweater and light-colored pants. Created in the first half of the 1950s, only a few examples of this lamp are known. One of them is presented on the stand of the Marion Beststyl exhibition in Sydney in 1956. Installed between two columns and presented at man's height, this lamp is perceived as a major work of the artist. Brice Langlois