44 - Rupert CARABIN (1862–1932)

Rupert CARABIN (1862–1932) Salt and Pepper, 1908 An exceptional set of two original plaster sculptures with a walnut-stain patina, depicting two women—one white and the other Black. The women stand out against a leafy background. Both pieces are patinated in shades ranging from light brown to dark brown. The plaster figures are mounted on hemp twine and reinforced with wood to stiffen the structure. Dimensions (Salt): 59.5 x 51 x 39 cm Dim (The Pepper): 62 x 55 x 35 cm History: The piece was commissioned in 1908 and was exhibited in 1909 at the Salon de la Société des Beaux-Arts. Very few of the artist’s plaster sculptures have survived, as most were destroyed during the move of his Paris studio to Strasbourg in 1920. “Carabin’s furniture baffled the public and critics of the time because it dismantled the hierarchy between the ‘major’ and ‘minor’ arts. In this way, the artist made a radical break with classical furniture design. Sculpture is integrated into his furniture, fulfilling both a structural and an ornamental function. The theme of the female caryatid—a recurring motif in his work and taken to the extreme—embodies this concept.” Étienne Eichholtzer, The François Rupert Carabin Photographic Collection (1890–1915): The Unveiled Gaze. Research Thesis, 2014.