Jean Jacquemin

JEAN JACQUEMIN (1894-1941).
"The jump of the Olympic skier", 1924.
Bronze and ivory.
Signed.
Measurements: 29 x 34 x 20,5 cm.

An interesting work within Jean Jacquemin's production, "Le Saut" or "Saut à ski" ("ski jump") is one of his best known compositions, where he captures the dynamic instant of the skier's take-off with stylized lines and a strong sense of movement, typical characteristics of Art Deco. The relevance of the work is further enhanced by the fact that it is a chryselephantine sculpture, a technique of extraordinary refinement and artistic sophistication.

This sculpture condenses and exemplifies the modern fascination with sport, which during the Art Deco era ceased to be understood solely as aristocratic entertainment and became a symbol of the essential values of modernity: energy, discipline, dynamism, health, competitiveness and physical beauty. France was one of the great epicenters of this phenomenon, and art immediately incorporated this new exaltation of the body and movement.

Jean Jacquemin was especially known for his bronze sports sculptures and chryselephantine sculptures - combining bronze and ivory - of great technical refinement. His works often depicted athletes and scenes of modern sports such as skiing, skating, golf, rowing or sailing, themes that were highly appreciated in interwar France for symbolizing elegance, speed and modernity.

Jacquemin inscribes his work in that current of sports sculpture that Art Deco cultivated with particular intensity during the interwar period, when the athletic body in motion became one of the central themes.