Jules Desbois

JULES DESBOIS (Parçay-les-Pins, 1851- Paris, 1935).
Pitcher, ca. 1890.
Silver-plated metal.
Signed on the back.
Stampof Siot-Decauville Foundry, Paris.
Numerations.
Weight: 2,100 g.
Bibliography: Philippe DAHHAN, Étains 1900, 200 Sculpteurs de la Belle Époque, Les Éditions de l'Amateur, Paris, 2000, reproduced p. 118, fig. 301.
Measurements: 21 x 15 x 13 cm.

This Art Nouveau pitcher, fully identifiable with the style, features an organic pumpkin shape. The handle is a striking round figure of a young nude woman, and the mouth is decorated with ivy.

Jules Desbois was a French sculptor and engraver whose precocious training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Angers earned him a scholarship to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His career is defined by a long and influential collaboration with Auguste Rodin between 1884 and 1914, following his master's path by focusing on the search for movement, realism and the study of the female model. Known for the subtlety of his modeling, his perfectionism and his taste for materials, Desbois also excelled in the decorative arts, being considered the revivalist of the use of pewter. A renowned artist in his lifetime with numerous works acquired by the state, his style also reflected the influence of Japanese art.

Siot-Decauville was a French artistic foundry active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Paris.