Jan Martel (5 March 1896 – 16 March 1966) and Joël Martel (5 March 1896 – 25 September 1966) were French sculptors and identical twin brothers. The twins were born in

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

and were among the founding members of Union des Artistes Modernes (UAM). Their works include ornamental sculptures, statues, monuments and fountains displaying characteristics typical of the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

and

Cubist Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

periods. Their work was part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

Careers

Sharing the same workshop, their jointly created works were co-signed simply ''Martel''. The brothers took part in a number of Paris exhibitions including the

Salon des Indépendants Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name i ...

, Salon d'Automne, Salon des Tuileries and the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs in 1925, where their concrete trees featured in a collaboration with architect

Robert Mallet-Stevens Robert Mallet-Stevens (24 March 1886 – 8 February 1945) was a French architect and designer. Early life Mallet-Stevens was born in Paris. His father and his grandfather were art collectors in Paris and Brussels. His great-uncles were the Be ...

. In 1932, they created the

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

monument which sits on the boulevard Lannes in Paris. Between 1924 and 1926,

designed a studio for the twins at 10 Rue Mallet-Stevens in Paris'

16th arrondissement The 16th arrondissement of Paris (; ) is the westernmost of the 20 arrondissements of Paris, the capital city of France. Located on the city's Right Bank, it is adjacent to the 17th and 8th arrondissements to the northeast, as well as to the ...

.The workshop of the Martel Brothers at 10 rue Mallet-Stevens in Paris is privately owned but open to the public on Heritage Days. The brothers died in 1966, about six months apart from each other, one as the result of a long illness and the other in an accident. On 8 April 1945, before the war had actually ended, Antony became the first town to pay homage to its liberator by giving the name of Division-Leclerc to one of its streets.Official News Bulletin for the Town of Antony. Page 31 of n° 112 of May 1997 The Martel Brothers were selected to create a memorial in honour of Leclerc. The statue, at the time figurative and stylised, represents the hero marching away from the screen of the piece which maps the route of the military from 1941 until entry into Paris.

Works

*"Les danseurs du bocage" Avenue Gambetta,

La Roche-sur-Yon La Roche-sur-Yon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Vendée Departments of France, department in the Pays de la Loire Regions of France, region in western France. It is the capital of the department. The demonym for its inhabitants is '' ...

*War memorial in

*War memorial in Clouzeaux *"Bust of Robert Bizot" *"La Belette" *"Nu" *"Ange à la Trompette" *"Le Coq Chantant" *"Moineau, Bec Ouvert" *"Voiture de Course" *"Joueur de Polo" *""Paris", Saint Christophe" *"Pigeon Mandarin" *"Le Commandant Guilbaud" in

Mouchamps Mouchamps () is a Communes of France, commune in the Vendée Departments of France, department in the Pays de la Loire Regions of France, region in western France. The grave of the noted French prime minister, Georges Clemenceau, is located near ...

*"Oiseau Perché" *"Maquette du Grand Miroir Polyédrique" *"Femme à la Rose" *"L'Accordéonniste" * "Locomotive en marche", Aluminium on a wooden

plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

(1931) * "Simone Séailles" at the ancient cemetery in

Antony, Hauts-de-Seine Antony () is a Communes of France, commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Antony is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department and the seat of the arrondissement o ...

*"Les oiseaux de mer" in

Saint-Jean-de-Monts Saint-Jean-de-Monts () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. Geography The town is situated in the west of the ''département'', between Notre-Dame-de-Monts and Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez. It is ...

(1964) * Monument of

in Paris (1932) * War memorial in Olonne-sur-Mer * Memorial for the Familistère (or ''Social Palace'', implemented by Jean-Baptiste André Godin) in Guise * Memorial of maréchal Leclerc in

Notes

Bibliography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martel Art Deco sculptors French twins Sculptors from Paris 20th-century French sculptors French male sculptors Art competitors at the 1948 Summer Olympics Brother duos Identical twin males Sibling artists