ANTONI CLAVÉ (1913-2005) ALIX COMBELLE ET LE JAZZ DE PARIS. Circa 1940.
61 3/4x45 1/2 inches, 156 3/4x115 1/2 cm.
Condition B / B+: restored losses, repaired tears, creases and abrasions at edges into image; unevenly trimmed margins. Framed.
Clavé began his career in the early 1930s in Barcelona as a movie poster designer. After fighting with the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War, he immigrated to France in 1939, where he eventually settled. He is known today as one of the most important postwar Spanish artists, using fabric, newspaper and other materials to build esoteric collages. In the early 1950s, he also worked for the theater as a poster artist, costume designer and stage decorator. Alix Combelle was a swing saxophonist and a popular big band leader in the 1930s and 40s. During this period, he would have been at the peak of his success as Paul Colin also designed a poster for the performer. In this nightclub-hued image, Combelle plays the saxophone while his band carries on enthusiastically in the background. rare - previously unrecorded.