Alfred Meyer (Paris, 1832 - Paris, 1904), enameller... Lot 28

Alfred Meyer (Paris, 1832 - Paris, 1904), enameller and Auguste-Ambroise Lignereux, called Saint-André de Lignereux (Jouy-le-Châtel, 1861 - Paris, 1936), bookbinder "La Vérité sur l'art décoratif moderne", circa 1898-99 Box intended to contain the magazine L'Art décoratif moderne (Paris, 1894-1898) Wooden box covered with leather, the interior lined with green velvet, the lid decorated with a polychrome enamel plate on copper The enamel dedicated and signed in the upper right corner: "To Arthur Maillet / his friend / A. Meyer. The leather case titled at the top right: " L'ART DÉCORATIF MODERNE "; and signed at the bottom right: " Saint André ". H. 10.5 cm; W. 27.5 cm; D. 34.5 cm, enamel on view: 17.8 x 11 cm Provenance: Given by the artist Alfred Meyer to Arthur Maillet, director of the magazine L'Art décoratif moderne. Exhibition: Paris, Salon de la Société nationale des Beaux-Arts, 1899, no. 305. Related literature: - A. Maillet, "À propos des Salons," in ADM, May 1896, pp. 123-125. - Rossella Froissart Pezone, The art in all. The decorative arts in France and the utopia of a new art, chapter one: "minor" arts?, CNRS Éditions, 2005, p.19-48. This leather box decorated with an enamelled plate representing a modern Venus, naked and removing her mask of anonymity while emerging from the well of knowledge, is a remarkable decorative object. It testifies to the revival of the arts still considered "minor" at the end of the 19th century. It was made by Alfred Meyer and Auguste-Ambroise Saint-André de Lignereux, respectively painter enameller and bookbinder, artists who worked for the renewal of these arts of fire and book and the dissemination of their techniques. The enamelled plaque is dedicated, reminding us that the work was intended for Arthur Maillet. This great defender of the decorative arts fought through his magazine Les Arts du métal, which later became L'Art décoratif moderne, for the recognition of industrial arts and their visibility at major international exhibitions. The box was specifically made to contain a copy of this magazine, as indicated by the beautiful calligraphy of the title in the "Art Nouveau" style inscribed in the leather by Auguste-Ambroise Saint-André de Lignereux.