Henri HUSSON (1852 - 1914), A French Art Nouveau Naturalistic Covered Pot

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Henri HUSSON (1852 - 1914), A French Art Nouveau Naturalistic Covered Pot

About the Item

Henri HUSSON (1852 - 1914) An Art Nouveau naturalistic silver sugar covered pot with decoration in light relief, silver projections and algae over the entire surface, flanked by two vegetative handles. Lid adorned with a fantastic fish emerging from the sea. Hallmarks , monogram HH and signed under the base "H.Husson" and "A.Hebrard Paris". Circa 1909 H 6,69 in. W 7,09 in. D 6,30 in. Gross weight: 25,62 Oz MUSEUM QUALITY PIECE The Russian collector Jacques Zoubaloff, a great admirer of the artist whom he compared to the greatest goldsmiths had managed to gather an important collection of his works. He gave them to the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Paris (Petit Palais) in 1916, then in 1922, thus providing the museum with the largest collection of works by Henri Husson, a similar sugar bowl, exhibited on the ground floor, inventory no. PPO1116(2). Henri Husson was born in Grand, in the Vosges, in 1852. Following in his father's foot-steps, he carried out locksmith work very early on. If we are to believe the legend "a beauti-ful key executed in secret, shown and sold for three or four louis to an amateur, this is the starting point of his career". However, and after evening classes in drawing to become an artistic ironworker, it was as a cabinetmaker that Henri Husson began his career, creating furniture in the Renaissance style for entrepreneurs. The young man then abdicated any kind of individuality and would not sign his works for almost three decades. It was the founder Adrien-Aurélien Hébrard who discovered Henri Husson in the early 1900s and helped him launch his career as a goldsmith and engraver, notably giving him a successful exhibition in his gallery on rue Royale, in 1909. Before this consecration in 1909 and for his work as a goldsmith, Henri Husson exhibited at the Salon des Artistes français from 1901 to 1911, re-ceiving rave reviews each year. Established in the countryside, the artist leads a rural life, collects butterflies, and beetles and walks through forests and meadows where he knows each flower and each plant by name. This in-time nature is the source of the unique settings of his works, where plants and insects seem to be molded from life, their precision is remarkable. A singular artist, far removed from the fashions and artistic trends of his time, Henri Husson nevertheless developed a vocabulary where we can find elements marked by Symbolism and Japonism. This is how we can read from the pen of Léandre Vaillat that he "has more sym-pathy for the plants which have the most fantasy, either in their movements or in their very forms: he likes ivy, because of its appearance; he likes the clover with its delicate lobes, the thistle because of its curve. By striving to understand them, by penetrating their intimacy, he does not force them into unbearable gymnastics." As for his manner, Husson is a true “arti-san of art”, and his works draw their delicacy from the demanding techniques of embossed sculpture and cast metal decoration. Modeling the metal plates with a hammer as a sculptor would do with his fingers for clay, he mainly works with copper which he enriches with pat-terns in cast silver. More rarely, Husson will also work with gold, silver, or enamel. Involv-ing heating the chiseled piece to pour the liquid metal of the decoration into it, Husson's technique is extremely delicate because he must prevent his piece from melting while he is modeling hot. Once cooled, the goldsmith retouches his decorations with expert carving be-fore finishing his pieces by patinating, coloring, oxidizing the metals to dress them with the charm of objects tarnished by time and drawing from its contrasts of colors and textures. materials with unexpected poetic effects. A year before his death, Husson turned to gold-smithing and exhibited his jewelry at the Galerie Hébrard in 1913. He died in 1914, at the age of 62. A member of the decorators who relearned to draw direct inspiration from Na-ture, the artist is considered today as one of the great goldsmiths of the 20th century. Pierre Goujon affirmed this: "Mr. Husson would have been, a few centuries ago, a great ironwork-er. I see him hammering breastplates and helmets, hammering swords for which we would have fought, the sword which "carries in the hollow of its brilliant throat, like a noble lady a jewel, the hallmark Of Julian del Rey, the prince of forging."

Dimensions:
Height: 6.7 in (17 cm)Width: 7.09 in (18 cm)Depth: 6.3 in (16 cm)
Style:
Art Nouveau (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Sterling Silver,Cast,Hammered,Molded
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
1900-1909
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1909
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Saint-Ouen, FR
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU2612337445102