Jean MARAIS, Table lamp

Jean MARAIS (1913-1998) Table lamp. Terracotta lamp with chamotte, signed Jean Marais, incised at the base. Vallauris, circa 1970. Table lamp in terracotta featuring an architecturally structured silhouette composed of a globular body resting on a slight circular base, topped with a pronounced shoulder and a long cylindrical neck. The surface is left in its natural rosy ochre hue and is animated by significant textural work. Irregular horizontal grooves rhythm the body of the lamp, while numerous roughnesses contribute to the material effect sought by the artist. The absence of glaze highlights the natural firing nuances and the tactile richness of the clay. The piece bears a handwritten signature "Jean Marais" incised into the clay on the lower part of the body. The visible lampshade is original. This lamp belongs to the ceramic production developed by Jean MARAIS in Vallauris during the last decades of his career. While his fame remains inseparable from theatre and cinema, the artist dedicates a significant part of his activity to ceramics, a discipline in which he finds a particularly personal means of expression. From the 1960s onwards, Jean MARAIS gradually distances himself from the most narrative decorative productions to favour more refined forms, based on the balance of volumes and the intrinsic qualities of the material. Lamps signed by Jean MARAIS remain relatively uncommon on the market compared to his vases, bowls, or sculptures. However, they particularly illustrate his desire to blur the boundaries between utilitarian objects and artistic creation, in the spirit of the renewal of decorative arts that characterises the second half of the 20th century.