Joaquim CLARET (1879-1964) Two nymphs with a... Lot 267

Joaquim CLARET (1879-1964) Two nymphs with a snake Terracotta Signed "J. Claret Height 24 cm; Length: 27 cm; Depth: 9 cm Provenance: Jacques & Michèle GINEPRO Collection After training at Barcelona's Académie des Beaux-Arts, Joaquim Claret realized that he needed to move to Paris to make a name for himself. He probably arrived in 1905, the year he exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français. Joining Aristide Maillol's studio, he became one of his practitioners for at least two years, from 1907 to 1908. During the First World War, Joaquim Claret was stranded in Catalonia, where he had gone on a honeymoon. His career came to a standstill until Maillol accelerated his return to France in 1921. The Bernheim Jeune gallery devoted an exhibition to him from December 5 to 13, 1921. Following in the footsteps of his master Maillol, Claret found deep sources of inspiration in mythological subjects, which he exploited in an original way. Detaching himself from his master's style, he developed a highly personal artistic expression that earned him the recognition of his peers and friends, such as Maurice Denis: "It is not so much, like Maillol, the voluptuousness of finished form that you seek in these nymphs and bacchantes, but rather the moving arabesque, the right counterpoint of homogeneous, well-balanced volumes: it is less the human canon that interests you, than this sort of musical canon [...]". Expert : Cabinet LACROIX & JEANNEST