"Jean Lerat (1913-1992), Sandstone Sculpture "woman With Basket" Circa 1960"
Glazed stoneware sculpture, depicting a woman with a basket, signed under the base. Period circa 1960. (arm reattached, and chip in the hat) Jean Lerat (1913-1992) and Jacqueline Lerat, née Bouvet (1920-2009), his wife, are two French ceramicists. Biographies: Jean and Jacqueline Lerat set up as potters in La Borne in 1943, when the ceramic tradition of this commune was in full decline. They chose a mode of artistic expression using stoneware and wood firing. They thus continued the tradition of the potters established in this village since the 16th century: an illustrated ceramic popularized by Marie Talbot. Their initial production consisted of functional pieces: bottles, tobacco jars, vases and figurines of a religious nature. Their works are in the spirit of Paul Beyer, who also worked in La Borne, and whose kiln they used after his death. From 1955 onwards, their style broke with tradition. A new step was taken in their workshop in Bourges where they now experimented with sculpture and developed a more secular production. At this time, they participated in the New Modernity movement.