Jean Dunand was one of the more extraordinary artists of the Art Deco style and is known for his incredible works using lacquered screens and creating sculptures out of various kinds of material.
Born in Switzerland, Dunand showed a clear inclination toward the arts from a very young age and even changed his name from Jules-John to the French pronunciation of ‘Jean’ in what many historians believe was an effort to sound more like one of the prominent French artists from the late 19th century.
He became an apprentice under the master Japanese artist, Seizo Sugawara, and learned to work extensively in lacquer painting, which is an ancient form of producing artworks that was nearly forgotten at the time.
Lacquer painting is an extremely time-consuming and difficult form of painting, but Dunand is said to have quickly mastered it and soon became more proficient in the medium than his teacher, who was widely considered to be the greatest lacquer artist in the world at this time.
Dunand went on to create some of the most breathtaking artworks of the Art Deco time period—many of them being done with lacquer paint on different kinds of metals.
He worked with other prominent artists during the era and many of his works that remain today are some of the most highly-valued pieces from the Art Deco movement.