Firmin-Marcelin Michelet

FIRMIN-MARCELIN MICHELET (Tarbes, 1875- 1951).
Jug, ca. 1900.
Patinated pewter.
Signed on one side of the mouthpiece.
Marks on the back of the founder and publisher Ettlinger Frères.
Weight: 1,600 g.
Bibliography: Philippe DAHHAN, Étains 1900, 200 Sculpteurs de la Belle Époque, Les Éditions de l'Amateur, Paris, 2000, reproduced p. 274, fig. 809.
Measurements: 26 x 15 x 14 cm.

Patinated pewter jug with handle. Decoration of a woman's bust on the front and floral decorations (bells) in its entirety. It is a paradigmatic example that masterfully illustrates the aesthetic revolution that Art Nouveau meant for the decorative arts.

Firmin Michelet was a French sculptor and engraving artist, whose training was developed with the Toulouse masters Falguière, Mercié and Marqueste. Although he excelled primarily in monumental statuary (co-authoring a bas-relief in the Trocadéro Palace with Paul Belmondo), Michelet also explored small decorative sculpture. He exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français, the Salon d'Automne and the Salon des Tuileries from 1898. Around 1900, he produced a series of Symbolist and Art Nouveau-inspired works, producing pieces in bronze and ceramics, such as absinthe jugs and figural vases. The Musée d'Orsay holds some of his works.

Ettlinger Frères was an early 20th century foundry specialized in the production of pewter objects, especially in Art Nouveau style. This foundry is associated with works by François Madurell and Joseph Berthier.