Jules Leleu

JULES LELEU (France, 1883-1961).
Pair of sconces. France, ca. 1930.
Gilded bronze, carved glass.
Rear textile screens.
With two points of light each.
Signed.
In good general condition. They present a small lack in one of the glass elements.
Measurements: 30 x 37 x 13,5 cm each one.

Pair of sconces made by Jules Leleu around 1930, within the refined French Art Deco language. The pieces combine a gilded bronze structure with curved arms of elegant ornamental development, topped by carved glass elements that bring lightness and lightness to the whole.

Their design stands out for its balance between symmetry, movement and decorative richness. The curvilinear motifs of the bronze, of stylized vegetal inspiration, contrast with the vertical sobriety of the screens, generating an elegant composition of great mural presence.

The textile shades are later, but respect the decorative character of the pieces. With their combination of gilded bronze, glass and filtered light, these sconces are an attractive example of Leleu's sophistication and interwar French Art Deco.

Jules Leleu, born in Boulogne-sur-Mer, began working in decoration with his brother. After World War I, he opened a gallery in Paris, Maison Leleu, in 1924 and exhibited at the 1925 Exposition Industrielle et Arts Decoratifs, winning a grand prize at the exhibition. Leleu designed the Great Hall of the Ambassadors of the League of Nations in Geneva and the French embassies of several nations, as well as the ocean liners SS Ile de France and SS Normandie.