This softcover book with 144 full color pages presents the works of Jean Mayodon (1893 - 1967).
Jean Mayodon is one of the great ceramists of the 20th century. In Sèvres, he met the engraver Félix Bracquemond (1833 - 1914), Auguste Rodin (1840 - 1917), Émile-Antoine Bourdelle (1861 - 1929), Claude Monet (1840 - 1926), Henri-Edmond Cross (1856 - 1910) and the famous dancer Isadora Duncan (1877 - 1927), whose dances he drew on his vases.
It was in Sèvres, in the family home, that he set up his workshop and built an oven. During his years of research, he painted with metallic oxides, seeking to perfectly master cooking techniques and the secrets of fire. In the tradition of André Metthey (1871 - 1920) whom he describes as a “magician of color and gold”, his research led him to master the cooking of gold to highlight the most refined colors.
Passionate about pre-Columbian pottery, Persian art, Greek and Etruscan Antiquity, the Egyptians, Italian frescoes, he brings ancient stories and mythological legends up to date: he designs and decorates his pieces with circles of nymphs, centaurs, mermaids, mermen, gods and dancers.
From 1930, he entrusted the turning to one of the best turners at the Sèvres Manufacture. Jean Mayodon has exhibited in numerous exhibitions (Salon d'Automne, International Exhibition of Decorative Arts, etc.). Artistic advisor to the Manufacture de Sèvres, appointed to the board of directors of the French Institute of Ceramics, in 1940 he became artistic director of the Manufacture de Sèvres, a position from which he was dismissed in 1942. During this period, he created more than eighty forms of vases for the Manufacture.
Although he then abandoned earthenware, his favorite material, for porcelain, he remained faithful in the decorations to his main source of inspiration: a strong and joyful Antiquity. Mayodon's personal production also includes large-scale works: fountains, sculptures, decorative panels, etc. intended for private homes, official buildings or large liners. He thus participated in the decoration of the liners Le Normandie, La Marseillaise and Le France.
Inspired by those who renewed the art of ceramics (Théodore Deck, Auguste Delaherche, Jean Carriès and particularly André Metthey), both in the decor and in the shapes and materials, he nevertheless seeks to reconnect with the ancient tradition of the vase with refined shapes and decorations.

The French texts are written by Dorothée Censier, Anne Lajoix, Véronique Ayroles, Judith Cernogora and Gérard Landrot.

Printed in 2023, this book is NEW and is 8 inches x 8 inches ( 21 cm x 21 cm )