Sans titre, motif végétal avec personnage

Between 1906 and 1908 a number of artists with the Galerie Ambroise Vollard, including André Derain, Henri Matisse, Raoul Dufy and Emile-Othon Friesz, explored the possibilities inherent in ceramics at the studio of André Metthey (1871-1920) in Asnières. Much as was the case with illustrated books, this collaboration, made possible by the patronage of Vollard, bears witness to the creative experiments launched by this young generation of painters in search of new means of expression. In many of these works, particularly those by Derain and Vlaminck, certain themes are recurrent, notably their shared interest in primitivist art. The early civilizations of Rhodes, Crete and Africa, as well as pre-Colombian art, were their inspiration and with great vigour were translated into a language of spontaneous and savage forms. In 1936 Vollard donated approximately fifty of these ceramics to the Musée du Petit Palais in Paris and today the vast majority of the remaining production is housed in the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.