Couple de Grands Ducs, c. 1927
Oil on cardboard, signed lower left
53 x 65.50 cm
History:
This model led to the creation of an etching which appeared in the second etching portfolio published by Éditions Apollo for Galerie Weill in 1931. This painting also served as a model for one of Pierre Loti's illustrations of the Pèlerin d’Angkor, published in 1930 (p.24).
Provenance:
Paul Jouve's collection
Purchase from the artist by the father of the current owner
Bibliography:
Félix Marcilhac, Paul Jouve peintre sculpteur animalier, Les éditions de l’Amateur, 2005, illustrated in colours on p.158 et p.369.
Expositions :
Jouve, Galerie Charpentier, 76 Faubourg Saint Honoré, 12 - 27 November 1927.
Exposition du Groupe des 4, Galerie Georges Petit, 8 rue de Sèze, Paris, 16 - 31 December 1927, n° 65.
Exposition du Groupe des 4, Galerie Georges Petit, 8 rue de Sèze, Paris, 15 - 29 December 1928, n° 63.
Although Paul Jouve is celebrated as one of the greatest painters of wild cats, his gaze also extended to other animals, notably birds. In this Couple of Eagle Owls painted around 1927, he conveys the silent power and mystery of these nocturnal raptors. Pressed closely together, the two owls assert their monumentality through the play of volumes and the intensity of their gaze.
Jouve’s fascination with birds is also evident in his many prints, particularly his etchings, where he depicted eagles, owls and other birds of prey with the same rigor. In these works, plumage becomes a graphic motif, while the precision of his line captures both the intensity of the eyes and the nobility of the animal.
This painting thus reveals a rarer but essential aspect of Jouve’s bestiary: his admiration for birds, whether exotic or familiar, which he succeeded in elevating to the same rank of majesty as his lions or tigers.