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Lot Essay
In Paris, at the 1925 Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, the artist-blacksmith Edgar Brandt was at the pinnacle of his career. He was on the planning committee for the fair, a judge of the metalworking section, and was considered hors concours, or above his peers. His ironwork was an integral part of many sections of the exhibition.
Brandt's own display stand, #45, was fashioned as a long hallway filled with beautiful forged ironwork; tables, grilles, torchères, sconces, silvered bronze vases, the iconic L'Oasis screen, and a grille similar to the gates that are offered here. The grille, Diane et La Biche ( Diana and the Deer) and the gates depict Diana, the Roman goddess of nature and the hunt who has the power to talk to animals and control them. Brandt's neo-classical version of Diana is decorously surrounded by two fields of stylized flowers. An Egyptian fan sits on top of each gate. The figures are enveloped in tiny flowers and leaves; while flourishing, above and below them, are larger flowers supported by scrolled vines that meander in the negative space. The verdant atmosphere enhances the central focus: the golden Diane and her deer.
Diana is a counter part of the Greek goddess Artemis, who was often depicted in medieval tapestries. In the School of Fontainebleau paintings, Diana was a disguise for Diane de Poitiers (1499-1566), the mistress of Henry II. Brandt's twentieth-century Diane became the essence of the Art Deco style where elegance and exultation were revealed.
The mirrored image gates, seen here, are based on the one from the 1925 exhibition, and were probably commissioned sometime between 1926 and 1927.
Joan Kahr
Brandt's own display stand, #45, was fashioned as a long hallway filled with beautiful forged ironwork; tables, grilles, torchères, sconces, silvered bronze vases, the iconic L'Oasis screen, and a grille similar to the gates that are offered here. The grille, Diane et La Biche ( Diana and the Deer) and the gates depict Diana, the Roman goddess of nature and the hunt who has the power to talk to animals and control them. Brandt's neo-classical version of Diana is decorously surrounded by two fields of stylized flowers. An Egyptian fan sits on top of each gate. The figures are enveloped in tiny flowers and leaves; while flourishing, above and below them, are larger flowers supported by scrolled vines that meander in the negative space. The verdant atmosphere enhances the central focus: the golden Diane and her deer.
Diana is a counter part of the Greek goddess Artemis, who was often depicted in medieval tapestries. In the School of Fontainebleau paintings, Diana was a disguise for Diane de Poitiers (1499-1566), the mistress of Henry II. Brandt's twentieth-century Diane became the essence of the Art Deco style where elegance and exultation were revealed.
The mirrored image gates, seen here, are based on the one from the 1925 exhibition, and were probably commissioned sometime between 1926 and 1927.
Joan Kahr