OSSIP ZADKINE (1888-1967) - PART OF A MAJOR DECORATION BY ANNDRÉ GROULT (1884-1966) FOR THE MAYEN MANSION IN PARIS XVI Three stags, 1927 Bas-relief. Carved stone. Unsigned. Height: 185cm - Length: 170cm Small scattered chips, painted later. This work is presented in collaboration with the Ader Entreprises & Patrimoine auction house. Provenance and history: In 1923, Lucie Mayen commissioned architect Charles Adda (1873-1938) to build a neo-classical mansion at 15 rue Louis David in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. To decorate the mansion, Mrs. Mayen called on André Groult (1884-1966), a major figure and pioneer of the decorative arts in the 1910s and 1920s - to whom we owe one of the most famous pieces of furniture of the period, the anthropomorphic cabinet entirely upholstered in shagreen, presented at the 1925 Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris and now housed at the MAD (Musée des Arts Décoratifs). This decoration project was carried out between 1927 and 1928. A few years earlier, around 1924, Lucie Mayen had acquired an emblematic sculpture by Ossip Zadkine (1888-1967) for her property in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin: L'Oiseau d'or in gilded bronze. It was therefore only natural that Mrs. Mayen should introduce the sculptor to the decorator; the Hôtel Mayen is the fruit of the first collaboration between the two men - Groult subsequently asked Zadkine to paint a portrait of his wife, and on several occasions included works by the sculptor in his decorations. So, in 1927, André Groult commissioned a total of seven works from Ossip Zadkine for this decoration: two very large stone bas-reliefs, Femmes et chiens and Trois cerfs, and a small stone bas-relief, Femme et chien, for the façade - four alabaster medallions, Nature morte au vase de fleurs et à la corbeille de fruits; Nature morte à la mappemonde et aux livres; Nature morte au panier de fruits et à la carafe; Nature morte au vase de fleurs et au violoncelle, which could be described as allegorical. In addition to these bas-relief sculptures, the decorator commissioned the sculptor to create woodwork panels (trumeaux) for 15 rue Louis David, as well as a graphite sculptural decoration for the exterior entrance to the garden - to date, there are no documents confirming that these works were actually executed. In 1942, the Hôtel Mayen became the Petit Collège of the Saint-Louis de Gonzague day school; it was finally demolished in 1988 when the school was redeveloped. In 1990 and 1991, the establishment donated to the City of Paris for the Musée Zadkine (with funds from the Valentine Prax bequest) the small stone bas-relief (Woman and Dog; inv. MZS 394) and the four alabaster medallions (Nature morte au vase de fleurs et à la corbeille de fruits; Nature morte à la mappemonde et aux livres; Nature morte au panier de fruits et à la carafe; Nature morte au vase de fleurs et au violoncelle; inv. MZS 384 & MZS 385 & MZS 386 & MZS 387). These five works cannot be seen today in this institution. It was at this time that the two very large bas-reliefs (Women and Dogs and Three Deer) were reintroduced into the new building, constructed on the site of the former Hôtel Mayen. They were integrated into the reception area on non-load-bearing walls; one on the right, the other on the left. This is where, until recently, these two masterpieces by Ossip Zadkine were located before being presented for auction. Public collection and related work: Musée Zadkine, Paris - One of the three bas-reliefs created by Zadkine for the façade of Mr. and Mrs. Mayen's mansion, entitled Femme et chien, is kept in the collections of this institution under inventory number MZS 394. Bibliography: - Ionel Jianou - Zadkine - Arted, Éditions d'Art, Paris, 1979. Our work is referenced under catalog no. 159, page 70. - Sylvain Lecombre - Ossip Zadkine; l'œuvre sculpté - Éditions Paris Musées, Paris, 1994. Our work is referenced under catalog no. 183 and reproduced on page 233; a photograph showing Zadkine drawing this relief in charcoal, from The Little Review (New York, May 1929) reproduced on page 233. Related literature: Félix Marcilhac - André Groult; décorateur-ensemblier du XXe siècle - Les Éditions de l'Amateur, Paris, 1997. On pages 195 and 196, the author describes the collaboration between Ossip Zadkine and André Groult for the Mayen mansion.