Lot 6
6
A SET OF FOUR FRENCH TOLE-PEINTE AND SHELL FOUR-BRANCH WALL-LIGHTS EMBLEMATIC OF THE ELEMENTS
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A SET OF FOUR FRENCH TOLE-PEINTE AND SHELL FOUR-BRANCH WALL-LIGHTS EMBLEMATIC OF THE ELEMENTS

DESIGNED BY PIERRE DELBÉE OF MAISON JANSEN, PARIS, CIRCA 1965

Details
A SET OF FOUR FRENCH TOLE-PEINTE AND SHELL FOUR-BRANCH WALL-LIGHTS EMBLEMATIC OF THE ELEMENTS
Designed by Pierre Delbée of Maison Jansen, Paris, circa 1965
Inspired by Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527-1593), the backplates of assymetric design representing the Elements, each inscribed respectively to the reverse LA TERRE, L'AIR, L'EAU, LE FEU, each with a globe, a flag, a scaled fish and a bearded grotesque mask, their scrolled branches respectively ornamented with foliage and cowrie shells and shells, in imitation of coral and water, fitted for electricity
22in. (56cm.) high; 17½in. (45cm.) wide, approx. (4)
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

These whimsical wall-lights were clearly designed by Pierre Delbée with Arcimboldo in mind. Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527-93) is rightly celebrated for the series of anthropomorthic composite portraits made up of a variety of objects from daily life, both natural and man-made. The scion of a distinguished family, Arcimboldo was born in Milan in 1527. By 1562 his reputation had travelled across the Alps, and he was appointed Court Portraitist and copyist to Emperor Maximillian II, for whom he executed his first series of the Seasons and the Elements in 1569. In 1570, Arcimboldo was sent to Prague to design an elaborate pageant for Maximilian that blended classical and Czech mythology, and he was to perform similar duties for Maximilian's son Rudolf II when he ascended the Hapsburg throne in 1575. In 1591 he produced his masterpiece, Vertumnus, an allegorical portrait of his master Rudolph II as the Roman God of metamorphoses in nature and life, his face made up entirely of fruit and flowers.

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