Jean Dupas was born in Bordeaux. He won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome in 1910 and had a very successful career in France.
In 1937, he was entrusted with a very important commission to create the décor for the conference rooms at the Labour Exchange in Bordeaux. The Labour Exchange was designed as a “palace for the people”, dedicated to social progress and the glory of Bordeaux.
This oil on paper is the preparatory sketch for a huge frieze with an iconography based around the city’s emblems associated with gods and goddesses. This unrestrained glorification presents the figures of La Garonne and Neptune, Bacchus and Ceres, Africa and Mercury, whilst the muse for Arts and Fame frames the large town coat of arms in the centre. You can see Dupas’ very unique style, with its classical Ingres-style drawing, and modern cubist touches.
A veritable manifesto to the radical-socialist policies of the mayor of Bordeaux, Adrien Marquet, this work equally testifies to art deco in between the wars and the great revival of mural art.
