An artist and interior designer who graduated from the Beaux-Arts school in Toulouse and the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, Janine Janet, nicknamed "the princess of shells" by Jean Cocteau, was initially attracted to drawing and sculpture. In 1936, she met portrait painter Jean-Claude Janet. In 1952, Cristobal Balenciaga allowed her to fully express her talent and assert her style by creating the window displays for his couture house on Avenue Georges V in Paris. Janine Janet belonged to an artistic movement that, in reaction to the purity of Art Deco, favored ornamental profusion. The preparatory drawings for her creations discovered by the gallery are all the more precious and rare as they often bear witness to the artist's ephemeral creations. For these, the artist draws on his iconographic repertoire, including the idyllic nature of his childhood on Reunion Island, and gives each element a life of its own. Indeed, the artist's unique blend of plant, animal, mineral and human kingdoms raises the question of our close relationship with nature. Janine Janet enchanted the public with her creatures (sphinxes, naiads, fauns, nymphs...) and offered a fairytale universe that was a breath of fresh air in the 50s and 60s. An exhibition entitled "Janine Janet. Métamorphoses" will be dedicated to her in 2003.
The works below have been selected because they are both representative of the artist's production and of the stock in our possession. We invite you to share our passion for discovery and see more by clicking on the link above...
| The administrator of the site is online now! |
