Robert and Jean Cloutier anthropomorphic cut, around 1960.

Robert CLOUTIER (1930–2008) and Jean CLOUTIER (1930–2015) Anthropomorphic bowl, circa 1960. Moulded and glazed ceramic. Signed underneath the base. Ceramic bowl in a free form featuring a stylised face treated in slight relief. The profile, constructed through synthetic modelling, highlights the essential features in a deliberately simplified style. The surface is animated by a freely gestured glazed decoration. A dominant area in deep blue and nuanced green, applied in broad fluid strokes, unfolds on the upper part, evoking hair or an enveloping movement. A circular medallion with a radiating decoration punctuates the composition, while a more diffuse green disc marks the cheek, introducing a play of graphic counterpoints. The palette, combining pink, blue, and green tones, is distinguished by its subtle variations and pictorial treatment. This work is part of the production of brothers Robert CLOUTIER and Jean CLOUTIER, active in Vallauris from the mid-1950s. The formal vocabulary (stylised figure, freely painted decoration, and structuring by circular motifs) corresponds to the models developed in their workshop during this foundational period. Bibliography: Patrick Favardin, The Cloutier Brothers. Ceramists and Sculptors, Éditions Norma, Paris, 2014 (reissued 2017) Pierre Staudenmeyer, French Ceramics of the 1950s, Éditions Norma, Paris, 2004.