FÉLICIEN CACAN (1880-1979) Macaques in the jungle, 1931 Very large decorative panel; in three parts assembled by rabbeting. Mixed media, including silver paint, gold paint and lacquer. Plywood supports on frame. Perforations around the edges to secure the panel. Signed and dated F. CACAN (19)31 top left of the left panel. Central panel: 305 x 150cm - Each side panel: 305 x 100cm Total dimensions: 305 x 350cm Provenance: Private collection, Paris: Private collection, Paris. Public collection and related works: Center national d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou, Paris - The décor of our work is to be compared with the drawing entitled Avant-projet, jeux d'or and two Esquisse[s] pour paravent respectively conserved in this institution under inventory numbers AM 4671 D (1), AM 4671 D (2) and AM 4671 D (3). Exhibitions and related works: - Exposition de peintures, études et dessins, de M. F. Cacan - Galerie Reitlinger, Paris, February-March 1914. The decor of our work can be compared with a study for a screen exhibited at this show. - Salon de la Société nationale des Beaux-Arts - Paris, April 30-June 30, 1922. The design of our work can be compared with the five-leaf folding screen exhibited in the Decorative Arts section of this show. Bibliography and related works: - La Renaissance politique, littéraire et artistique - N°du 28 février 1914. The decoration of our work to be compared with the "sketch of a screen showing monkeys chasing macaws with their plumage shining through the foliage of a sort of large gilded scroll", as described by Robert Hénard, page 588. - Catalog du Salon de la Société nationale des Beaux-Arts - Catalogue of the exhibition held in Paris from April 30 to June 30, 1922. The décor of our work can be compared with a five-leaf folding screen (illustrated in L'Art et les Artistes, N°27, May 1922), listed under catalog no. 1806, in the Decorative Arts section, page 252. - L'Art et les Artistes - N°27, May 1922. The decoration of our work can be compared with the fragment of a folding screen reproduced on page 315, in the article entitled L'art décoratif au Salon, relating to the eponymous section of the Salon de la Société nationale des Beaux-Arts of 1922. Félicien CACAN (1880-1979) Félicien Cacan, a painter whose name is unfairly overlooked, was in fact a multi-talented artist of great inventiveness. His works are diverse in subject, form and style - all marked by his imagination, ingenuity and poetry. Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts, then the École des Arts Décoratifs, Cacan handled both drawing and easel painting, illustrated famous books and created murals and decorative elements. His open-mindedness and great freedom explain the great variety that characterizes his work. A regular participant in the salons of the day, his name appears in many different sections, including painting and decorative arts. As a disciple and friend of Jacques-Émile Blanche (1861-1942), Félicien Cacan devoted himself primarily to the art of portraiture, landscapes and still lifes; although he retained from Blanche's art above all the use of light and the transmission of a certain feeling, the vector of their shared great modernity. Among his works are landscapes of Seine-Maritime - painted when he visited Blanche in Varengeville-sur-Mer - or Venice, nude studies, flower paintings and other vibrant portraits. But, as an insatiably curious artist, he also tried his hand at creating screens and decorative panels - which he adorned with the motif of abundant vegetation, made up of gold-and-silver foliage, and featuring monkeys and birds. The work presented here is no exception, featuring the lush decor frequently used by the artist for his decorative pieces. Our panel reveals the motif of tree branches, from which proliferate large leaves. Two monkeys are lounging on these branches, while higher up, another monkey is suspended, giving the impression of howling. In this decorative work, Félicien Cacan manages to conjure up in a few strokes the feeling of an opulent, teeming jungle, of nature taking its course and which we can almost hear.