Léo Maillet (Léopold Mayer, dit) (1902-1990 )Sauvage (Cat in front). 1938. Drypoint. At sight : 365 x 480. Good proof on vellum, titled, dedicated "to the young rude", signed and dated in pencil. Insolation of the sheet and small light foxing. Margins. Rare. Frame. Leo Maillet, born Leopold Mayer, was a Jewish engraver, painter and draftsman, born in Frankfurt. His work is close to expressionism and New Objectivity (Neue Sachlichkeit). From 1930 to 1933, he studied under Max Beckmann at the Städel School. In 1935, he emigrated to Luxembourg, then to Paris, where he worked in the studio of Roger Lacourière. Imprisoned by the Nazis in 1942, he escaped from a deportation train, took the name Maillet, and lived in hiding in the Cévennes. In 1944 he took refuge in Switzerland where he exhibited regularly from 1945. Only a few works from his youth remain (mainly engravings), because they were destroyed by the Gestapo. Nevertheless, he left about 700 works in various formats and techniques.