Gustave Miklos

GUSTAVE MIKLOS (Budapest, Hungary, 1888 - Oyonnax, France, 1967).
"Bolide Automobile" / "Le Bolide", ca. 1930.
Gilt bronze.
Exemplary 2/4.
Signed.
Includes poster of the retrospective exhibition of Gustave Miklos, presented by L'Enseigne du Cerceau, Paris, October 25 to November 30, 1972.
Measurements: 27,5 x 9 x 10,5 cm.

An interesting work in the production of Gustave Miklos, "Bolide Automobile" condenses in sculptural format the modern fascination with speed, aerodynamics and the machine, central themes of the interwar sensibility and the Art Deco imaginary. Conceived as a desk object of great sophistication, the piece transcends its paperweight function to place itself in the territory of applied sculpture: a gilded bronze of fluid lines, polished surfaces and taut volumes that evoke the mechanical luxury of the racing cars of the 1920s and 1930s.

The work stands out for its powerful formal synthesis. Miklos reduces the automobile to an essential, almost architectural silhouette, where the bodywork becomes a succession of curved planes, clean edges and metallic reflections. The elongated shape, the low profile, the raised hood and the aerodynamic solution to the volume convey a sense of movement even at rest. This ability to transform a modern motif into a refined sculptural image explains the uniqueness of the piece within Art Deco collecting.

The interest of this piece is reinforced by its very rare edition of only four pieces and by its direct relationship with the retrospective exhibition held in Paris in 1972, whose poster, included in the lot, reproduces precisely this model. This documentary association adds a relevant historical and commercial value by linking the work to the critical recovery of the artist a few years after his death.

Gustave Miklos was a key figure of French Art Deco. Born in Budapest, he settled in Paris in 1909, where he came into contact with the atmosphere of La Ruche, Cubism and avant-garde circles. The Gustave Miklos Committee notes his training in decorative arts: glassmaking, tapestry, metal, enamel and sculpture, as well as his early participation in the Salon d'Automne and his proximity to Cubism. His career developed between sculpture, design, illustration and applied arts, fields that in his work are not separated, but integrated in a modern conception of the artistic object.
Miklos was also a founding member of the Union des Artistes Modernes, participated in the exhibitions of the Pavillon de Marsan between 1929 and 1937, and counted among his collectors prominent names of interwar Paris, such as Jacques Doucet, Jeanne Lanvin, Robert de Rothschild and Jean Dunand. His presence in public and international collections -including the Centre Pompidou, the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, the Barnes Foundation, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Kröller-Müller Museum- confirms the institutional consolidation of his work.

From a market point of view, "Bolide Automobile" brings together several particularly attractive factors: a leading author in Art Deco, a very limited edition, a link to the world of historic automobiles and associated exhibition documentation. It is a particularly interesting work for collectors of modern sculpture, Art Deco design, high-end automobilia and French decorative arts of the interwar period.