JEAN DUNAND
'MAPPEMONDE' OR 'ATLANTIQUE', c. 1935-1937
Lacquer panel executed after a design by André Nivard (1880–1969), using a technique inspired by Coromandel lacquer, in which areas of colour are enclosed within slightly raised contours that define and structure the composition.
At the end of the nineteenth century, Charles and Léon Comar developed their family laboratory into one of France's leading chemical and pharmaceutical companies. Its expansion accelerated with the acquisition of the Clin laboratory in 1897. Benefiting from industrial advances and the rapid development of modern communications, Clin-Comar quickly established an international presence, exporting its products worldwide. In 1905, the Clin-Comar Prize was established to reward the world's most outstanding medical students. Following the First World War, Cinnozyl, a treatment developed to combat tuberculosis, became one of the company's flagship products. The business subsequently evolved into Clin-Byla in the 1950s, then Clin-Midy in 1971, before ultimately becoming part of the group now known as Sanofi.
The design for this panel was entrusted to André Nivard, Official Painter to the French Navy, renowned for his maritime and overseas landscapes. The composition presents a rich iconographic programme celebrating the medical and pharmaceutical sciences. Saint Genevieve, protector against calamities and epidemics, radiates from Paris towards the five continents. Medicinal plants—including gentian, foxglove and poppy—symbolise the resources of the pharmacopoeia, while the pair of confronting serpents recalls the enduring symbolism of medicine inherited from Antiquity. Finally, microscopes, alembics and an apothecary jar inscribed "Acet. Cupr." (copper acetate), long valued for its antiseptic properties, celebrate the advances of scientific research and pharmaceutical chemistry.
At the end of the nineteenth century, Charles and Léon Comar developed their family laboratory into one of France's leading chemical and pharmaceutical companies. Its expansion accelerated with the acquisition of the Clin laboratory in 1897. Benefiting from industrial advances and the rapid development of modern communications, Clin-Comar quickly established an international presence, exporting its products worldwide. In 1905, the Clin-Comar Prize was established to reward the world's most outstanding medical students. Following the First World War, Cinnozyl, a treatment developed to combat tuberculosis, became one of the company's flagship products. The business subsequently evolved into Clin-Byla in the 1950s, then Clin-Midy in 1971, before ultimately becoming part of the group now known as Sanofi.
The design for this panel was entrusted to André Nivard, Official Painter to the French Navy, renowned for his maritime and overseas landscapes. The composition presents a rich iconographic programme celebrating the medical and pharmaceutical sciences. Saint Genevieve, protector against calamities and epidemics, radiates from Paris towards the five continents. Medicinal plants—including gentian, foxglove and poppy—symbolise the resources of the pharmacopoeia, while the pair of confronting serpents recalls the enduring symbolism of medicine inherited from Antiquity. Finally, microscopes, alembics and an apothecary jar inscribed "Acet. Cupr." (copper acetate), long valued for its antiseptic properties, celebrate the advances of scientific research and pharmaceutical chemistry.
Dimensions with blackened wooden frame :
H 210 - W 170 cm.
H 82 5/8 - W 66 7/8 in.
H 210 - W 170 cm.
H 82 5/8 - W 66 7/8 in.
Signed 'Laqueur Jean Dunand' lower right and 'André Nivard' lower left.
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Provenance
Comar Collection (the panel’s original patrons);
Thence by descent.
Literature
Félix Marcilhac, 'Jean Dunand, Vie et Œuvre', les éditions de l'amateur, Paris, 1991, p. 304, n. 234.Félix Marcilhac, Amélie Marcilhac, 'Jean Dunand', Éditions Norma, Paris, 2020; model reproduced and referenced as No. 311 on pp. 280 and 281.
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