André METTHEY (1871-1920) - Lot 202

André METTHEY (1871-1920) Small enameled and gilded stoneware bowl with floral motifs on a mauve and yellow ochre background. Signed with the monogram AM and the cloverleaf below the base. Diam.: 11 cm; H.: 6 cm André METTHEY is today considered one of the great precursors of art ceramics. His encounter with the art dealer Ambroise Vollard led him to collaborate with numerous painters, including Maurice Denis, Henri Matisse and Georges Rouault. These works were shown at the Salon d'Automne in 1907, but it was above all his personal production that won him acclaim, with a monographic exhibition in 1909 at the Palais Galliera. He died prematurely in 1920, leaving behind a substantial body of work, exhibited in major museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of New York, the SHiodome Museum in Tokyo and the Annonciade in Saint Tropez. His innovative style and perfect mastery of enamels on stoneware made him the perfect bridge between Art Nouveau and Art Deco, which was still in its infancy at the time, heralding the works of Cazeaux and Mayodon. Our bowl can be compared with a similar piece in the Maurice Denis departmental museum in Saint Germain en Laye (Coupe aux oiseaux, PMD 001.1.1).