Description
Jean HENNINGER (1916-1994) Hunting scene - LOT SOLD ON DESIGNATION. Bas-relief in stone. Direct cut. 1949 H. 451 cm L. : 276 cm P. 22 cm (Small accidents) Exhibition possible by appointment at the auction house of Gien. Sold assembled (14 pieces of 200 to 400 kg each. Removal at the expense of the buyer). Provenance : - Private collection, Strasbourg (Vila Engel), c. 1948 - Private collection, Strasbourg (1 place Bouecler) - Raymond Keller, Strasbourg, c. 1975 - Private collection, France Bibliography: - Museum of the City of Strasbourg, Rebuilding. La vie artistique en Alsace après-guerre, autour de l'œuvre de Jean Henninger (1919 - 1994), catalog accompanying the exhibition from January 28, 2016 to April 21, 2016 at the Musée Alsacien de Strasbourg. Illustrated fig. 5 (wrong dimensions) Directly inspired by Jean Dunand's lacquers for the liner Normandie, this imposing stone bas-relief takes up the elements of the original decoration, which was dismantled after the accidental fire of the ship in New York harbor in 1942. It is a work that is characteristic of the "art-deco" period, but also an obvious tribute to the great master lacquerer that was Dunand. Such creations flourished in all major French cities during the 1930s before gradually disappearing at the end of the 1940s. Often with an ephemeral destiny, these decorations intended to decorate facades, casinos or other prestigious public monuments such as the pavilions of World Fairs, were often dismantled or destroyed over time. Many simply disappeared and it is therefore rare to see such sets reappear on the market. This work, of exceptional plastic quality, also testifies to the importance of Dunand's work in the minds of French decorators of the time, but also to the freedom that certain artists were able to take in the face of models that had become almost archetypal. Here, while directly inspired by the work of the master lacquerer, the Alsatian sculptor Jean Henninger expressed all his creative freedom, modifying the original composition at will, even adding quite personal elements, thus demonstrating an incredible technical prowess in the cutting of the stone, the rendering of reliefs and depth, and the tight control of the composition. Of a completely unprecedented dimension, such a set could easily fill the facade of a Haussmann building, on at least two floors. A small masterpiece that reminds one of the monumental compositions of Alfred Janniot for the Palais de la Porte Dorée, or of Raymond Delamarre illustrating The Jungle Book; further still, the Mesopotamian, Egyptian or Khmer bas-reliefs, from which the decorative artists drew their inspiration at will.
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Jean HENNINGER (1916-1994) Hunting scene - LOT SOLD ON DESIGNATION. Bas-relief in stone. Direct cut. 1949 H. 451 cm L. : 276 cm P. 22 cm (Small accidents) Exhibition possible by appointment at the auction house of Gien. Sold assembled (14 pieces of 200 to 400 kg each. Removal at the expense of the buyer). Provenance : - Private collection, Strasbourg (Vila Engel), c. 1948 - Private collection, Strasbourg (1 place Bouecler) - Raymond Keller, Strasbourg, c. 1975 - Private collection, France Bibliography: - Museum of the City of Strasbourg, Rebuilding. La vie artistique en Alsace après-guerre, autour de l'œuvre de Jean Henninger (1919 - 1994), catalog accompanying the exhibition from January 28, 2016 to April 21, 2016 at the Musée Alsacien de Strasbourg. Illustrated fig. 5 (wrong dimensions) Directly inspired by Jean Dunand's lacquers for the liner Normandie, this imposing stone bas-relief takes up the elements of the original decoration, which was dismantled after the accidental fire of the ship in New York harbor in 1942. It is a work that is characteristic of the "art-deco" period, but also an obvious tribute to the great master lacquerer that was Dunand. Such creations flourished in all major French cities during the 1930s before gradually disappearing at the end of the 1940s. Often with an ephemeral destiny, these decorations intended to decorate facades, casinos or other prestigious public monuments such as the pavilions of World Fairs, were often dismantled or destroyed over time. Many simply disappeared and it is therefore rare to see such sets reappear on the market. This work, of exceptional plastic quality, also testifies to the importance of Dunand's work in the minds of French decorators of the time, but also to the freedom that certain artists were able to take in the face of models that had become almost archetypal. Here, while directly inspired by the work of the master lacquerer, the Alsatian sculptor Jean Henninger expressed all his creative freedom, modifying the original composition at will, even adding quite personal elements, thus demonstrating an incredible technical prowess in the cutting of the stone, the rendering of reliefs and depth, and the tight control of the composition. Of a completely unprecedented dimension, such a set could easily fill the facade of a Haussmann building, on at least two floors. A small masterpiece that reminds one of the monumental compositions of Alfred Janniot for the Palais de la Porte Dorée, or of Raymond Delamarre illustrating The Jungle Book; further still, the Mesopotamian, Egyptian or Khmer bas-reliefs, from which the decorative artists drew their inspiration at will.
