JEAN JANIN
"CALLISTO"
OIL ON CANVAS, SIGNED
FRANCE, DATED 1928
45.5 X 35.5
SIZE NOT INCLUDING THE FRAME
This allegorical painting features images from the Roman myth of Callisto, the nymph who was turned into a bear by Jupiter’s jealous wife Juno and eventually thrown to the heavens where she formed the constellation Ursa Major. She is seen shackled amongst celestial bodies, including the planet Jupiter to the upper right.
Jean Janin 1898-1970 Jean Janin was born in 1898, in Geneva, Switzerland, to French parents; he was a painter and a designer. His paintings were of scenes with Art Deco and surreal figures, often with allegorical themes, he also designed stage sets and wall decorations. Janin trained at the art school in Geneva, then at the Académie Ranson in Paris. In 1923 began to exhibit in Paris at the main annual salons. In 1929 , he and the American William Gwinn founded the Children's Traveling Theater. He did a great deal of decorative work and produced screens, lacquer panels and mosaics for Poissy town hall. He also designed several posters in the 1920s. He belonged, with artist Pierre Ino, to a group of young Surrealists. Janin died 1970.
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