Heidi MELANO (1929-2014) - Lot 94

Heidi MELANO (1929-2014) Polychrome mosaic tile panel in pâte de verre and marble, after an oil painting by Vladimir TATLINE (1885-1953) titled "Nude" from 1913 Signed lower left with the initials "VT", circa 1979 Dimensions: 141 x 105 cm Heidi Melano, maiden name Heidi Hoegger, was born in Geneva on April 20, 1929. Granddaughter of the great Swiss painter Ferdinand Hodler, she was fascinated by art from an early age: she created, painted and let her imagination express itself through different techniques. She soon set her sights on becoming a mosaicist. At the age of 23, she won a mosaic competition with her work "La Volière". On this occasion, she met Lino Melano, whose reputation as a mosaic artist was well established. They married in 1955 in Biot. From then on, the husband and wife team collaborated with some of the greatest artists of the 20th century: Braque, Chagall and Fernand Léger, creating huge mosaic murals based on models or images. Accustomed to reproducing the models of these great artists with their eclectic movements and styles, she became an accomplished artist and began to express herself. Freed from the personalities of the artists she had assimilated in the past, her personal works reflect the colors, shapes and techniques she has preferred throughout her life. Heidi Melano worked until the end of her life in Biot in 2014.