Panthère noire, 1908
Pencil on Japanese paper, signed and located « Amsterdam » lower left
39 x 53.50 cm
History :
This drawing is the basis of one of the plates chosen to illustrate Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book (p. 247 and 305, intertexts), which will be released only in 1919, but whose project had long been assigned to the artist. In 1907, Jouve had obtained a grant from the General Government of Algeria and as such, he was allowed to stay for two years at Villa Abd-el-Tif. However, this stay was interrupted by returns to Paris and a trip to the Amsterdam zoo at the beginning of 1908, Jouve only returning to Algeria in the spring. This drawing, annotated "Amsterdam", bears witness to this visit in 1908 to one of the zoos that inspired the artist the most, and also liked to visit the city's museums. This work appears on the wall, on a vintage photograph showing Jouve and Cauvy in the studio of Villa Abd-el-Tif.
Provenance:
Private collection
Bibliography :
A similar work is illustrated in the March 1910 issue of the magazine L'Art Décoratif, p. 113.
Félix Marcilhac, Paul Jouve peintre sculpteur animalier, Les éditions de l'Amateur, 2005, the vintage photograph shows the work on the wall of the studio of the Villa Abd-el-Tif on p. 44.
Exhibition history:
Paul Jouve exhibition, Artist's studio, Jardin d'Essai, Algiers, 18 December - 19 January 1909.
Collections :
The Musée d'art moderne de Paris holds a similar work in its collections.