Georges MANZANA PISSARO (1871 1961)

Four Pastel and gold chickens in stencil and mixed technique on paper.
Signed lower left. 32,5 x 48 cm

Note:
A similar work is kept in the collections of La Piscinede Roubaix, and presented at the Salon Fine Arts Paris from 13 to 17 November 2019.
It is accompanied by the following commentary written by Mrs Alice Massé, Curator in charge of collections at La Piscine - Musée d'Art et d'Industrie
André Diligent de Roubaix, whom we thank: "Son and student of Camille Pissarro who initiated her into the study of nature, Georges Manzana Pissarro adopted in 1894 as pseudonym the name of her maternal grandmother before signing both names from 1910 onwards. Early on, he became interested in the Arts & Crafts movement, and from 1889 onwards he made several trips to London, devoting himself to decorative art on the fringes of painting, drawing and engraving. In 1907, Ambroise Vollard offered him his first solo exhibition, while in 1914, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs devoted an extensive retrospective to him.
"Les quatre poules" is an essential part of La Piscine's animal collections, recently highlighted in the Faire le beau catalogue.
This drawing perfectly illustrates the predilection for the domestic fauna of swans, roosters, hens and peacocks, which inspires both his pictorial and graphic work and his creations of art objects (painted furniture, carpets and tapestries, glasses and plates in particular). This work, which boldly combines modesty of subject and preciousness of workmanship, is highly representative of the watercolours, gouaches and engravings enhanced with gold and silver, mainly featuring birds and fish, which distinguished the artist in the Salon des Indépendants and established his reputation. The technical refinement and use of stencils betray, in this production, his penchant for Japan, which appeared in 1906 under the influence of Paul Gauguin and was widely developed over the following decade.
This reference is found in this composition where, on a golden background of a powerful decorative effect, the birds reproduced using stencils seem to detach themselves from the support."