Gusztáv MIKLÓS dit Gustave MIKLOS (1888 - 1967)

The High Priest, 1921. Tempera on cement board, signed and dated lower right. 65.5 x 42 cm (restorations). Provenance: - Galerie L'Effort Moderne, Léonce Rosenberg, N°7576 . Bibliography : - Will appear in the catalog raisonné of Gustave Milos' work currently being prepared by the Miklos Committee. The Léonce Rosenberg archives hold a receipt of payment dated August 3, 1921 for this work. We would like to thank the Comité Gustave Miklos for kindly confirming the authenticity of this work, and for informing us of the existence of a poncif on the same subject in their archives. Miklos was born into a modest family in Budapest on June 30, 1888. At the capital's Royal School of Decorative Arts, he learned the techniques of stained glass, tapestry, metalwork, enamel and sculpture . To further his artistic training, Miklos moved to Paris in 1909, where he joined his friend Joseph Csaky at La Ruche. He attended drawing classes at the École Spéciale d'Architecture and was taught by Le Fauconnier at the Académie de La Palette. He exhibited his first paintings at the Salon d'Automne in 1910 and 1911. He then embarked on the path of Cubism. In 1913, one of his Cubist paintings was selected for a traveling Exhibition of Cubist Paintings organized by Taylor Son & Co in Cleveland. Few Cubist oils on canvas are known from this period. Only one is currently known. When the First World War broke out, Miklos was sent to the Eastern Front. There, he discovered Byzantine art, the golds, blues and reds of the mosaics adorning the vaults of the basilicas in Salonika, Greece. In 1922, Miklos met engraver and publisher François-Louis Schmied (1873-1941) while working with repoussé metal in the Paris workshop of Swiss coppersmith Jean Dunand. Their shared artistic passions gave rise to a friendship that lasted until Schmied's death. Schmied was captivated by the Hungarian artist's poetic universe. They entered into a secret agreement whereby Miklos would supply him with his drawings for book illustrations, bookbinding projects, enamelled fonts and paintings. By agreeing to let the publisher sign them in his name, Gustave Miklos renounced the fame that his talent could have brought him during his lifetime. As for Dunand, he asked Miklos to supply numerous drawings for the panels, vases and screens produced in lacquer by the workshop's workers. As with Schmied, Miklos did not sign his creations, unlike Paul Jouve, Jean Lambert-Rucki and Jean Goulden. Such a signature would probably have betrayed the pact made with Schmied. It was through his sculpture, then, that Miklos came into his own as an artist. In February 1923, the art dealer Léonce Rosenberg offered him his first monographic exhibition, in which he presented works in repoussé metal plates to the public. Miklos was one of the founding members of the UAM and took part in all Pavillon de Marsan exhibitions. During his lifetime, Miklos was only known for his sculptural work, which for a long time remained the preserve of restricted circles. His collectors, both regular and occasional, included François-Louis Schmied, Marcel Coard, Robert de Rothschild, Laurent Monnier, Jean Dunand, Jeanne Lanvin and the most loyal, Jacques André. In 1940, Gustave Miklos moved to Oyonnax, where he taught sculpture at the École des Matières Plastiques. He died there in 1967. Sources: Internet: https:// www.comitegustavemiklos.fr/gustave-miklos /.