Jean Dunand

JEAN DUNAND (Switzerland, 1877-1942).
"Le couple", ca. 1923/1925.
Rectangular panel with polychrome lacquer on black lacquered background, based on a drawing by Jean Lambert-Rucki.
Signed at lower right.
Presented in a black lacquered frame, also made by the artist.
Provenance: Collection Cardinaël, Paris; Vente Laurin-Guilloux-Buffetaud-Tailleur, Paris, 1er Juin 1977, lot n°88.
Bibliography: Félix Marcilhac, "Jean Dunand: vie et œuvre", Les Éditions de l'Amateur, Paris, 1991, panneau référencé p. 60 et sous le n°224 p.225.
Measurements: 17.5 x 12 cm.

"Le couple" is a lacquered panel, paradigmatic of Dunand's work in the 1920s, his peak period. It is situated at the height of his career as a master of lacquer, a technique that he revitalized and elevated to the status of a noble art in the West.

The work combines several key facets of his production: technical mastery, Deco style and collaborative spirit. Specifically, with the cubist sculptor Jean Lambert-Rucki, whose drawing he translated into his own expressive and technical language.

"Le couple" is a highly stylized composition, divided into two vertical sections. The right half is presided over by a representation that fuses an archaic Egyptian influence with modern geometry. Initially, it is perceived as a single profile that, upon reaching the torso, is revealed as two figures (one male and one female) united in an intimate embrace, with their heads together. The profiles are sharp, with short, straight falling hair. The eyes are reduced to small combs, the nose to a rhombus and the mouth to a minimal line. The anatomy is synthetic and elegant. The bracelets and the fringed skirt, which reveals the buttocks, refer directly to Egyptian iconography. The solution of showing the figure simultaneously in profile and from the front is also a clear echo of Pharaonic frescoes and reliefs. The left side of the composition offers a decorative counterpoint. A diagonal strip with a white background crosses this section, and a large cerulean flower stands out above it. Its corolla is formed by a circular labyrinth, a geometric motif typical of Art Deco. The ribs of the flower are finely drawn in gray.

The work is presented in a black lacquer frame made by Dunand himself, conceiving the piece as a "total art object" where content and container form an inseparable unity.

Jean Dunand was a French-born Swiss painter, sculptor, interior decorator and designer. Exponent of the art deco style, he worked especially with metal and lacquer. He studied at the School of Decorative Arts in Geneva. He settled in France in 1897, becoming a French citizen in 1922. In his beginnings he was dedicated to sculpture, but from 1902 he focused on the decorative arts. He evolved from a certain naturalism towards art deco. He was the author of metal and lacquer pieces, with a geometric design, generally vases inlaid with gold, silver, enamel or other materials. His work is preserved in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and in the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, among many other collections.