KATSU HAMANAKA (Hokkaido, 1895-1980) Lot n° 44

Apollo and Marsyas 1938 Two panels screen, lacquered and gilded wood Signed and dated in Japanese characters H. 278 cm ; W. 75 cm Born on the island of Hokkaido, Katsu Hamanaka went to Paris in the 1920s where he regularly exhibited in the capital's salons. In the 1930s, he became one of the champions of Art Deco. He participated with Jules Leleu in the design of the Atlantic liner in 1931, then in the International Exhibition of Arts and Techniques in 1937. The following year, he executed our magnificent lacquer panel. The decor is inspired by the Apollonian legends according to which Apollo won his first music contest against Marsyas: "the satyr, son of Olympos, had found a flute, thrown away by Athena, who had tried to use it but had not been slow to give it up when she had noticed how it deformed his mouth and gave his face an unpleasant expression. Finding that the music he made with it was melodious, Marsyas defied Apollo, and claimed to be a better musician, with his flute, than the God with his lyre " (extract from P. Grimal, Dictionnaire de la Mythologie grecque et romaine, Paris, PUF, 1951, p. 42).