A superb Art Deco bronze sculpture by the celebrated French twin sculptors Jan and Joël Martel, depicting a seated accordion player rendered in their unmistakable cubist idiom. The composition is highly stylized and architectural, with faceted planes, compressed volumes, and a bold geometric treatment of the accordion bellows, giving the work a powerful sculptural rhythm and strong modernist presence. Documented versions of this model appear in bronze and other media, and the subject is recognized as one of the Martels’ important recurring figures.
The sculpture is signed Martel, consistent with the brothers’ joint practice of signing their collaborative works under that name. Jan and Joël Martel were among the leading French sculptors of the Art Deco era, known for blending decorative refinement with Cubist structure and modernist abstraction