Léo Maillet (1902-1990), Aubade, C. 1960

Léo Maillet(1902 Frankfurt am Main - 1990 Bellinzona), Aubade, around 1960. Color aquatintwith etching and drypoint on sturdy, chamois-colored wove paper, 23.5 cm x 27.9cm (plate size), 51.5 cm x 37 cm (sheet size), hand-signed, titled, and marked“Epreuve d'Artiste 1/5.”
-Magnificent print. The wide margin with minimal crease marks and partiallyslightly darkened 


- Vibrantimagery -

During histime in Switzerland, Léo Mallet intensively explored the ‘sonority’ of images.Here, the graphic depicts an aubade, a morning serenade, which is thecounterpart to the serenade, the musical evening piece. We see an uprightfigure spanning the image, connected to a string instrument. A resonant entitythat unfolds a sound space, carried equally by the vibrating filigree lines andthe yellow, orange, and green colors. This sound space in turn opens up worldsof sound, such as the wave-like structures in the lower right area of theimage. In this way, the image itself becomes music.  


About theartist

Léo Mallet,whose real name was Leopold Mayer, attended Franz Karl Delavilla's graphic artsclass at the Städelschule in Frankfurt from 1923 onwards with the aim ofbecoming a fashion designer. After deciding to devote himself entirely to art,he became a master student of Max Beckmann in 1930. After the Nazis came topower, the Beckmann School was dissolved and almost all of Léo Mallet'sprevious work was destroyed. He fled to Paris, where he worked in the samestudio as Picasso and Miró. Between 1936 and 1939, he participated in severalart exhibitions in Paris, while in 1937, artworks still in Frankfurt weredestroyed as “degenerate.” In 1943, the Gestapo destroyed his Paris studio. Theyear before, Mallet was to be extradited to Germany because of his Jewishancestry. He managed to escape, but lost his left eye in the process. Malletreached Switzerland in 1944 and became a Swiss citizen in 1968. In 1952/53, hepublished the art magazine matière in Zurich together with Adolf Hürlimann.

“You may beunknown and have lost everything, but you are one of the five greatest paintersand engravers of this era, alongside Beckmann, Dix, Dr. Grosz, and Hofer in theyears 1925 to 1933.”

Hans Möhle