Leo Maillet

The Artist Leo Maillet was born in 1902 as Leopold Mayer, in a well-respected Jewish family
in Frankfurt am Main. For five years he went to study all different graphic techniques at the
college of the fine arts “Städelshule” with Proffesor F. K. Dellavilla. Then he went on to join
Max Beckmann’s masterclass in 1930. However, in 1933 the national socialist regime
already declared him as a “entarteter Künstler” (degenerate artist), so that in 1936 he
emigrated to Paris, which he was forced to leave in 1939 due to the German invasion.
Hundreds of his works; Paintings, cooper plates and prints were being confiscated and are
considered lost today. He was being pursued by the Nazis in exile and following a series of
dramatic escape attempts he was able to seek refuge in Switzerland with the help of an organisation.
After the war he successfully conducted reparation trials with France and Germany and by
1960 he settled in Verscio in the Swiss italian region of Sopraceneri, which he had visited
earlier in his life in 1929 for medical reasons. In Verscio he exclusively
dedicated his life to artistic creation until his death in Bellinzona in 1990.
Maillet is one of the most significant engravers of the 20th century. His early works were
already gathering international recognition when his promising career was abruptly
disrupted, hence he is part of the so-called ‘lost generation’. His works originated in the
time of the new objectivity movement and German expressionism. In the post-war years he
expanded his artistic methods and surrealist impressions, and playful poetry influenced his
works. The results were assemblages and collages. Leo Maillet illustrated the works of Franz
Kafka using wood engraving. Furthermore, he produces aquarelles inspired by the
performances of the Theatre Dimitri, in addition to a great series of etchings on different
topics and impressive and symbolic compositions of war experiences. He developed his
own, original artistic language, in which he skilfully applied technical graphic elements.
Maillet is nowadays a lesser-known artist because he stayed out of the artistic and
mercantile circles all his life, even though he is an extraordinary Artist of his time in the
figurative field. DM, MMXXI

Translation: Nathan Frank