Joël And Jan Martel (1896-1966) - "the Accordionist"

Original edition plaster painted by the artists. Signed "J. MARTEL" on the back Circa 1925 after the original plaster or terracotta from 1925 Original wooden base Dimensions: Height: 40 cm. (with the base) Width: 18.4 cm - Depth: 17.8 cm Bibliography: The Vendée inspired the Martel brothers to create, throughout their career, a large number of small sculptures in the round. Generally speaking, the Vendée production is part of a common theme in the work (dance, music, research of movement) to which the sculptors bring an ethnographic precision in the costume or the gesture. Thus the accordionists, the couples of dancers, the workers of the land constitute the majority of the subjects exploited by the artists. In 1925, the first version of the accordionist in black Lakarmé was produced. Here, a concern for stylization and a search for purity of lines dominate. The subject is chosen because it is a pretext for translating geometric forms (the range of broken lines of the accordion). Other versions appear in 1927, 1932, 1934 and 1939. The accordionist presented here is that of 1925. Similar model reproduced in the work "Joël et Jan MARTEL, sculpteurs" published by Gallimard, page 24 and referenced under number 2 page 1760