Modernist Cast Iron Fireback “Les Voiliers” (Sailboats), Signed Menemus, Foundry Stern, circa 1970

A distinguished cast iron fireback from the post-war French artistic tradition, bearing the title Les Voiliers (The Sailboats) and the signature of the artist Menemus, produced by the celebrated Fonderie Stern of Paris. The composition presents a richly worked scene of sailing ships, their tall masts and rigging depicted in a boldly abstract, cubist-influenced relief that transforms a maritime subject into a study in angular geometry and dynamic line. The density of the scene—vessels overlapping, masts crossing in a complex weave—gives the fireback an almost tapestry-like depth and presence.

Menemus was among the artists and designers who contributed to the Fonderie Stern’s prestigious series of artistic cast iron firebacks produced in the 1960s and 1970s, alongside figures such as Lucas and Quellier. The Fonderie Stern, a Parisian foundry with deep roots in the tradition of artistic metalwork, acted as both producer and guarantor of quality for these editions, stamping each approved piece with its mark. The resulting series represents one of the most coherent bodies of post-war French decorative cast iron.

The choice of sailing ships as subject connects Les Voiliers to a longstanding tradition in French decorative art: from the ship-themed faïence of Rouen to the maritime imagery beloved of the Brittany-influenced arts movements, the sea and its vessels have always carried particular resonance in French visual culture. Menemus’s interpretation is unambiguously modernist, however—the angular, flat-plane rendering of hull and rigging owes more to Braque’s cubist harbours than to any realist tradition.

In good condition consistent with age and use, the surface developing the warm patina characteristic of cast iron firebacks used near a working fire. A refined and intellectually engaging piece for a study, bookcase, or fireplace.