DECORATIVE ARTS of the XXth CENTURY

THE GIRAUDON ADVENTURE

We are auctioning today, Monday, February 21, 2022 at the Hôtel des ventes de Blois, some thirty works coming directly from the workshop of Pierre and Christine GIRAUDON.

Pierre Giraudon was born in 1923 in Paris. After studying botany and biology. In 1949 he moved to Canada where he was appointed to the Institute of Biology in Montreal. At that time, the inclusion of specimens in transparent plastic was developed in the United States. The purpose of this new technique was above all educational: to make the plant and animal worlds accessible to all. Pierre Giraudon immediately saw all the possibilities that this new technique could offer. He returned to France and created the "Bioplastic Company" in 1953. He establishes a first catalog of 150 pieces approved by the National Education.

The neologism of "Bioplastie", designates a technique consisting in including in a synthetic material real elements coming from the vegetable, mineral or animal world. These cast and polished blocks have the transparency of glass. The enclosed and frozen elements are easily observable. There lies all the educational, scientific and artistic interest.

The GIRAUDON workshops are therefore solicited for the realization of educational material in the fields of anatomy, botany, geology, etc. They collaborate with the Natural History Museum of Paris, the Palais de la Découverte or the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie de la Villette.

For her part, Christine GIRAUDON comes from a family of weavers, the PLASSE LE CAISNE. Close to the artistic community of Moly-Sabata (during the 1930s) (Anne Dangar) and the cubist universe of Albert Gleizes and his wife Juliette Roche. The Plasse Le Caisne then interpreted in tapestry many works of contemporary painters, (Manessier, LeMoal, Springer, Bazaine, Villon .....)

In parallel to its educational productions, the GIRAUDON workshops will realize during more than 40 years monumental works like the fountain of the Champs Élysées (4 meters in diameter), succeeding René Lalique and Max Ingrand, or the mascaron lion head of the DUGSTORE Publicis. They will also produce reproductions of some of Auguste Rodin's works for the museum (the kiss, the thinker, Victor Hugo, Eternal Idol ....)

Major French luxury houses work together with the GIRAUDON workshops, notably for the realization of showcases. This was the case for the house of Dior, as well as Hermès, which, under the direction of Leila Menchari, was for a long time a privileged partner of the GIRAUDON workshops.

Clients from all over the world, including Russia, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates, asked the workshop for numerous decoration projects.

The experimentation and know-how of the GIRAUDON workshops over more than 40 years inspire wonder at their creations.

The cracked resin (or fractal) is the result obtained by diverting the chemical process of polymerization. The material fractures in a random manner.

These pieces are naturally unique.

The story of the GIRAUDON workshops or the BIOPLASTIQUE company may not be over. Constance GIRAUDON still works with resin. The workshop Plasse Le Caisne under cover of the association Tissage et Tradition continues to produce and transmit the practice of manual weaving.

And Christine concludes with a smile: "We had a lot of fun... We can go further.

Contact Study: Guillaume CORNET

We thank you to read the conditions of sale before bidding.

ATTENTION, The entry in the room is subjected to the presentation of the sanitary pass which consists in one of the following documents: 1° The result of an antigenic test or screening examination realized less than 48 hours before the access to the establishment; 2° A proof of the vaccinal status; 3° A certificate of recovery of the Covid-19, dating from at least 11 days and less than 6 months. These documents may be submitted in paper or digital form. Wearing a mask in the auction room REMAINS MANDATORY.

A] METHOD OF PAYMENT ON RECEIPT OF THE SALE SHEET either by :

- 1 / LIVE BUYERS : Automatic debit of your account if your purchase does not exceed the sum of 100€, 48 hours after the sale, unless you give a counter-order. If your purchase exceeds 100€, please ask us to send you a 3Dsecure link.

- 2 / BANK CARD : by phone at 02 54 78 45 58

- 3 / BANK TRANSFER : CAISSE D'EPARGNE CENTER LOIRE BLOIS HALLE AUX GRAINS - IBAN : FR76 1450 5000 0208 0027 3916 318 - BIC : CEPAFRPP450