26 - Henri HUSSON (1852–1914), sculptor, copper smith, and goldsmith—Silver and vermeil cape clasp depicting an insect perched on ivy leaves.

Henri HUSSON (1852–1914), sculptor, copper smith, and goldsmith—Silver and vermeil cape clasp depicting an insect perched on ivy leaves. Signed “Husson” on the hook Weight: 103 g Ref. “The Paris Salon” by Alastair Duncan, page 326—a model photographed with various insects—published by Hebrard for the 1908 exhibition of precious women’s jewelry. A sculptor and metalworker, he was born in Grand in the Vosges in 1852, the son of a locksmith, and died in Vétheuil in 1914. He began by learning his father’s trade while taking evening drawing classes. For several years, Husson worked as an artistic metalworker and as a restorer for antique dealers. In 1909, the foundryman and publisher Hébrard organized a solo exhibition for him at his gallery on Rue Royale, which was a great success and enabled him to launch an independent career as a goldsmith and engraver. Husson lived in the countryside near Mantes, in a large house surrounded by a garden. Nature provided his primary sources of inspiration. He reproduced the plants of the fields and meadows as faithfully as possible, placing on them insects imitated to perfection, as if cast from life. Husson, first and foremost a metal artist, was rarely tempted to work with enamel or precious stones. He primarily used gold, silver, and red copper, which he patinated, overlaid, and inlaid with metal castings. From these contrasts in color and material, he knows how to draw unexpected poetic effects. Husson is a singular artist who lived apart from the fashions and artistic movements of his time. Yet he is close to Symbolism in his very personal way of suggesting that objects possess an unconscious life. From Japan, too, he likely drew inspiration from the naturalistic approach and the practice of coloring, oxidizing, and patinating metals. Of Russian origin, the collector Zoubaloff donated forty-two works by Husson to the Petit Palais in 1916 and 1922. Zoubaloff particularly admired Henri Husson, whom he compared to the greatest goldsmiths of the Renaissance. Thanks to this donation, the Petit Palais museum holds the largest public collection of Husson’s works.