Alfred-Auguste Janniot (1889-1969) 'Les quatre saisons'

About this piece

Plaster study for a sculpture with a polychrome patina, where the four seasons are represented as four goddesses. With this plaster Janniot also wanted to try out polychrome on plaster. He painted it with tempera. The goddess stand on a gold coloured cross formed base where the names of the seasons are mentioned. His intention was to create a circle, a round dance, lust like the seasons themselves.

The four goddesses symbolizing the four seasons are:

Le Printemps (Spring):
Flora, goddess of flowers. She stands for rebirth of vegetation. She is half naked and holds a drapery, her other hand reaches for her hair. In the bronze she doesn't.

L'Été (Summer):
Céres or also called Demeter, goddess of the harvest. She is naked with a golden (blonde) haircut. Janniot his wife Cécile Garny was the model, representing the summer. She was his muse. She also served as a model for the 'Baigneuse' (National Library) and for the famous sculpture "Le torse de Mme Janniot" exhibited at the Venice Biènnale.

L'Automne (Fall):
Pomona, goddess of wine and vineyards. She is naked, purple coloured. In one hand she holds a bunch of grapes, the other hand points to it.

L'Hiver (Winter):
Winter represents Art in this sculpture, there are actually 9 muses of art and science, Janniot has chosen to show her completely covered, even her head. Her posture suggests nocturnal rest or sleep. The head straightened with a serene expression. She is holding flowers in her hands, the prospect of spring. She is painted in cool colours, the blue and white represent snow and ice.

This plaster was a study for a bronze, a commission from 'École normale supérieure' in Cachan in 1953. It's a post bachelor's degree and research institute on the outskirts of Paris. The bronze version is still there, Janniot had made small changes comparing the plaster, such as hairstyle or posture.

A terracotta version of this plaster is also known.
This polychrome plaster is an unique work and very exceptional.

The appearance of the work is beautiful, dreamy and cheerful.

Provenance:
- Galerie Michel Giraud, Paris. (On loan for oeuvre exhibition Alfred Auguste Janniot, 2006.)

- Private collection in France, the previous owner bought this plaster directly from the family of Alfred Janniot.

Biography:
Alfred Auguste Janniot (1889-1969), born in Montmartre, Paris. He studied at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a pupil from Injalbert. After his military service, he was mobilized during WWI. When he returned he immediately became active again as a sculptor. He won the Prix de Rome in 1919 and went to the Villa de Medici in Rome, where he produced his masterpiece 'Hommage á Jean Goujon'. This impressive sculpture was exhibited at the 1925 World Exhibition Arts Décoratifs in Paris. It was shown at the pavilion from good friend Emile Ruhlmann, where he made several works for in commission.

Janniot was inspired by Greek-Roman mythology and the bible. He developed a neoclassical style but with a modern stylized interpretation and became very successful. He was also influenced by Antoine Bourdelle, who learned him many technical sculls for stone.

He was commissioned in 1928 to make the stone reliefs of the facade for the Colonial Museum, then intended for the Colonial World Exhibition in 1931. he worked on it for 2 years, together with hired sculptors, to create his designs. Nowadays the building serves as a museum in Paris and is world famous for the beautiful impressive reliefs of oceans, jungle, with all kind of wildlife like elephants, zebras and antelopes. He also designed the golden facade of the 'Maison Française' at the Rockefeller Center in New York and the famous entrance to Palais Tokyo (1937). During his working life he made many architectural and monumental sculptures such as fountains, monuments, statues and bas reliefs for the large salon of big ocean steamers as SS Ile-de-France (1927) and SS Normandie (1935).

In 1933 he married his beautiful younger wife Cécile Garny, who always remained his museand was immortalized many times by him in stone or bronze or in plaster, like in this exceptional plaster.

During WWII his studio was completely destroyed in a bombing raid, as a result, much of his work was lost forever.
In 1945 he became professor of sculpture at the École des Beaux-Arts, besides his already busy career.

Literature:
- 'Alfred Auguste Janniot 1889-1969', Somogy Éditions d'Art, Paris 2003. Anne Demeurisse - Légataire Universelle de Janniot.

- Galerie Michel Giraud - "Alfred Janniot', Éditions Libraire du Passage, 2006. Pictured and description on page 130-131.

Condition

This plaster has a number of small restorations, some of which may also have arisen during the making process. A metal thread protrudes from the head of the summer goddess. There are traces of wear and age.