Art Institute of Chicago

Cigar Cabinet

Designed by Jean-Eugene Brandely (active France, 1867–1873)

Date

c. 1867

Medium

Oak, walnut, cedar, patinated bronze, and rattan

Culture

Paris

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This cabinet is the work of three artists: a designer, a cabinetmaker and retailer, and a sculptor. The composition balances monumental architectural forms with lively, playful bronzes. Designed as a humidor, it retains its interior drawers for cigars. The cabinet’s sinister creatures were designed by Emmanuel Frémiet, one of the most sensitive and accomplished animal sculptors of the 19th century. He was a professor of zoological drawing in Paris and excelled at creating lifelike imaginary beasts such as the winged frog on this cabinet. Gothic in spirit, it reflects the fascination with Europe’s medieval past that informed the work of many 19th-century French artists.

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