SOLD AS IS
This is a 1979 French art stamp showing the “Head of Marianne” by Salvador Dali (1904 – 1989), a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in his work. He is noted for his painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, writing, film, and jewelry. Dali was Associate member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1978. It is one of the five academies of the Institute de France. Dali was commissioned by the French Postal System who wanted to offer a stamp with the effigy of Marianne. Marianne has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. In this painting, the head of Marianne is juvenile and wears the Phrygian cap with a tricolor cockade. But above all, this head which is supposed to represent the French national emblem is encircled by signs that one could relate to an Arabic calligraphy.
"Tribute to J. S. Bach (Hommage a J.S. Bach)" by French painter Jean Picart le Doux, circa 1980.
This is a 1980 French art stamp showing “Homage to J S Bach” by Jean Picart Le Doux (1902-1982), an artist who specialized in designs for tapestry. Le Doux is one of the foremost figures in the renaissance of the art of tapestry. His earliest contributions to the field date back to 1943 when he designed cartoons for the passenger ship “la Marseillaise”. A close associate of Lurçat, whose theories he would adopt (limited palette, numbered cartoons…), he was a founding member of the A.P.C.T. (Association des Peintres-cartonniers de Tapisserie), and soon after, a teacher at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs. The work shown on the stamp shows stylized organ pipes, part of a cello (alluding to Bach's incomparable cello suites), and two snatches of music. In the center background, behind the cello and one group of organ pipes, is a stained-glass church window.
PROVENANCE: In 1994, I purchase both at a local art fair in Seal Beach, CA. I have owned them since that time.
Sold as is. Original owner. Non-smoking environment.