Anton R. Nelson

ALEXIS ANDRÉ (Paris, 1858- 1935).
Tobacco pot, ca. 1890.
Patinated pewter.
Signed on the front of the lid.
Weight: 3,450 g.
The Musée d'Orsay in Paris has a photograph of the time, donated by the sculptor's grandson, showing this work.
Measurements: 21 x 26 x 14 cm.

Pot with lid to store tobacco, of Art Nouveau period, in patinated pewter decorated in relief with vegetable ornaments and cherubs as side handles and on the lid. It is a piece that completely identifies the Art Nouveau style.

Alexis André was a French sculptor with an exhaustive training at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts in Paris, where he studied sculpture with Antonin Mercié, Jules Cavelier and Louis Léopold Chambard, and drawing with Alfred Lavidière. In addition, he was influenced by the great masters by frequenting the workshops of Jules Dalou and Eugène Guillaume, and occasionally those of Auguste Rodin and Antoine Bourdelle. He made his debut at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1885 with the statue Panurge. His career was quickly consolidated, with notable pieces such as La Fable des comédiens and a head of Rieur (marble acquired by Baron Alphonse de Rothschild), before turning to portraiture through a series of busts. He was a member of the Société des artistes français and also exhibited at the Salon des Hundred.