Jan et Joël Martel

Who was Jan et Joël Martel?

The twins Jan & Joël Martel were French sculpturers.

The twins were among the founding members of Union des Artistes Modernes, and their original works include ornamental sculptures, statues, monuments and fountains displaying characteristics typical of the Art Déco and Cubist periods. Sharing the same workshop, their jointly created works were co-signed simply Martel. The brothers took part in a number of Paris exhibitions including the Salon des Indépendants, Salon d'Automne, Salon des Tuileries and the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs in 1925, where their concrete trees featured in a collaboration with architect Robert Mallet-Stevens. In 1932, they created the Claude Debussy monument which sits on the boulevard Lannes in Paris. Between 1924-1926, Robert Mallet-Stevens designed a studio for the twins at 10 Rue Mallet-Stevens in Paris' 16th arrondissement.

The brothers died in 1966, about 6 months apart from each other, one as the result of a long struggling illness and the other in an accident.