Babouins branchés, circa 1943
Oil on paper mounted on cardboard, signed lower left.
50 x 65 cm
Provenance:
Private collection, France
Literature:
Félix Marcilhac, Paul Jouve, Éditions de l’Amateur, Paris, 2005, reproduced in color p.162.
Christian Eludut, Le Monde Animal dans l'Art Décoratif des Années 30, Éditions BGO, 2007, reproduced p.57.
Jours de Chasse, no. 34, Winter 2008, reproduced p.128.
Exhibitions:
Galerie l’Art Français, Paris, October 23 – November 6, 1943, no. 34.
Paul Jouve, Salle Saint-Esprit, Valbonne, July 7 – 29, 2007, exhibited and reproduced in color in the catalogue.
Certificate of authenticity issued by Mr. Dominique Suisse.
Although Paul Jouve is best known for his great felines – tigers, lions or panthers – he constantly observed and represented the entire animal kingdom with the same intensity. In this painting from the 1940s, two baboons are captured in a simple, natural posture: one raises its powerful profile, while the other focuses on the tree trunk it holds in its hands.
The sober and balanced composition highlights the monumentality of these monkeys, whose massive forms are modeled by a restrained palette of browns and greys. Far from anecdotal, Jouve conveys the dignity and presence of these animals, expressing through the strength of his line and the rigor of his structure his admiration for their vital energy.
This work illustrates the diversity of his bestiary and his ability to endow each subject—majestic or familiar—with a sculptural, almost heroic intensity.