ALIX AYMÉ (1894-1989). - Lot 211

ALIX AYMÉ (1894-1989). Teacher at the École des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine. The Annunciation, circa 1950. Polychrome and gold lacquered wood panel decorated with eggshell inlays, signed lower right. Dimensions: 44.5x63.8 cm. The work presented here was created by Alix Aymé after her return from Indochina, probably following a trip to the Mediterranean basin in the early '50s. This trip, which took her to Italy in particular, gave rise to several works inspired by Italian Renaissance paintings, with religious themes as their main subject. Alix Aymé's use of the sacred in her work from this period could be linked to her own spiritual journey, as a result of the tragedies that shook her life in those same years: the loss of her first son, Michel, killed at the age of 19 in 1945, and the death of her husband less than five years later. Thus, in 1948, Alix Aymé agreed to design a lacquered wooden Way of the Cross for the chapel of Notre-Dame de la Délivrance in Douvres, Calvados, and at the same time carried out several similarly inspired projects. It is in this context that the work we present appears to fit: an Annunciation scene, a classic theme par excellence modernized by the skilful use of lacquer and eggshell inlays. The main composition is particularly classical, drawing on the stylistic codes of the Renaissance: the angel Gabriel on the left, in profile, wings outstretched, intercedes with the Virgin Mary on the right, announcing the coming birth of Christ in accordance with the Gospel according to Saint Luke, chapter 1, 26-38. The architectural setting is reminiscent of the "hortus conclusus" or walled garden in Latin, a subtle reference to the Immaculate Conception. In the background is a vast Italian mountain landscape, where pine trees and traditional houses intermingle under a golden sky. The artist's touching version of a classic theme is modernized by a virtuoso treatment of polychrome lacquer and eggshell inlays. To date, this is the only known lacquer example of this work, a very similar version of which on silk was presented at Sotheby's Hong Kong on April 4, 2016 (lot no. 259) and again on March 31, 2019 (lot no. 306).