Jan Joel Martel Cubist Art Deco Monkey Baboon Wood Rare 1930

Jan Joel Martel Cubist Art Deco Monkey Baboon Wood Rare 1930

A stunning cubist sculpture depicts a seated baboon, showcasing perfect design with gently rounded surfaces. The rear side, abstract and stylized like an arrow, adds to its allure. Each corner surprises with its uniqueness, offering the artwork an additional dimension. Crafted from ashwood, Martel ingeniously joined two pieces to achieve the desired size, cutting the work directly from the wood. The piece was then meticulously sanded, varnished, and waxed.

This unique wooden baboon likely served as a mold or study, as indicated by its dimensions. This wooden sculpture is rare; an unsigned stone baboon and a few bronze versions exist. It is attributed to Jan Martel, known for collaborating closely with his brothers on design and execution, often signing their works simply as J. Martel or J. J. Martel. This site also references it, depicting the works of the Martels. https://freresmartel.blogspot.com/p/sculpture-animaliere.html

I have read that Jan Martel’s daughter and granddaughter think the baboon was initially created for Villa Cavrois, designed and built by architect Robert Mallet-Stevens from 1929 to 1932. Jan and Joel Martel have designed several animal figures for this villa. The baboon was probably one of the available designs, but, as far as I can determine, it was never placed in the villa. Martel exhibited this sculpture at the salon around 1930; there is also a photo of this baboon made at that time for the catalog.

Jan and Joël Martel (Nantes, 1896-1966) were twin brothers and sculptors who always lived and worked together. Their work consisted of ornamental sculptures, statues, monuments, and fountains. They worked in the characteristic style of Art Deco and Modernism. Women, dance, and music were common themes, but they also made beautiful animal figures. At the 1925 World Exhibition ‘Art Decoratifs’ 1925, the brothers Martel arranged, in collaboration with Robert Mallet-Stevens, a “Cubist Sauare” that caused a lot of commotion by placing significant concrete cubist trees on the square. They were always progressive, which is not only shown in their work but also in their material; they used a variety of materials, from traditional bronze, stone, and wood, ceramics but also wakame, a mixed kind of lacquer and plastic, nickel, concrete, steel, copper and other plastics.