Art & Statues
Jan & Joel Martel Art Deco Cubist Bronze Musician Angel Monumental 2 of 8
Original bronze by Jan and Joel Martel. Image of a stylized cubist Angel playing a harp.. Rare and famous figurative bronze made by Susse Frères foundry from Paris, signed, sealed, and numbered 2 of 8, circa 1925-30. The Martel brothers were amazing art deco artists with an unusual and interesting working relationship as brothers (read bio below). They could synthesize cubist, realisim, and classic interpretations as sculptors, painters, and fabricators. Signed J. Martel in bronze, this is an excellent and rare piece in its original condition.
Martels did serious work depicting music with major installations located in a permanent exhibition in France. In 1932, they created the Claude Debussy monument, which sits on the boulevard Lannes in Paris. The bronze offered here is quite large, certainly of museum quality in detail.
People often ask how many of this particular piece were made. As indicated by the foundry mark, this is number 2 of only 8 produced.
Jan and Joël Martel (April 5, 1896 – March 16, 1966) were influential French sculptors, twin brothers whose careers helped shape the aesthetics of early 20th-century modernism. Born in Nantes, they were founding members of the Union des Artistes Modernes (UAM), and their collaborative work spanned ornamental sculptures, public monuments, and fountains—many reflecting the stylized geometry of Art Deco and the structural experimentation of Cubism.
Working side by side in the same studio, they signed their pieces jointly as simply “Martel.” The brothers exhibited widely, participating in major Parisian salons including the Salon des Indépendants, Salon d’Automne, Salon des Tuileries, and the landmark 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs, where their avant-garde concrete trees stood in collaboration with architect Robert Mallet-Stevens. Notably, from 1924 to 1926, Mallet-Stevens also designed their atelier at 10 Rue Mallet-Stevens in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. In 1932, the Martel brothers created the monument to Claude Debussy, which still stands on Boulevard Lannes in Paris.
Both brothers passed away in 1966, just months apart—one following a long illness, the other in a tragic accident.
On 8 April 1945, before the war had actually ended, Antony became the first town to pay homage to its liberator by giving the name of Division-Leclerc to one of its streets. The Martel Brothers were selected to create a memorial in honour of Leclerc. The statue, at the time figurative and stylised, represents the hero marching away from the screen of the iece which maps the route of the military from 1941 until entry into Paris
