HENRY MIAULT - Lot 40

HENRY MIAULT 18K (750) gold brooch depicting 5 flowers. Signed. Early 20th century. Length: 8.5cm approx. Weight: 18.4 g Henry Miault (1881-1932) was the son of Poitou peasants, and nothing predisposed him to the artistic career he was to embrace. From the top of a tree, grazing his animals, he observed nature for long hours at a time. He began carving small objects with the tip of a knife. At the age of 10, he made a watch chain from carved plum stones. He then went on to carve wood, shape clay and turn to metal when he became a blacksmith. He did his Compagnonnage tour in France, then returned to woodwork, carving animals for merry-go-rounds. His meagre savings enabled him to take drawing lessons and then perfect his mastery at the Beaux Arts in Paris. Nature is his main source of inspiration, and plants are his favorite domain. He carves "noble" flowers such as roses and violets, but his favorite subjects are plants and herbs. Léon Rosenthal, the great art historian, greatly admired Miault, the man he was as well as his work: "Light jewelry, small objects, Miault brings us, with perfect mastery, the youthful charm of agrarian sculptors, and we thank him for having been able to preserve, among this civilization on which he has grafted himself, his healthy originality as an ingenuous savage".