MICH Jean (1871-1932)
Jean-Pierre Mich (1871-1932) is the full name of Jean Mich, the Luxembourgish sculptor and draftsman, close to the Jugendstil movement. Of German origin, he studied at the Beaux-Arts in Paris, then at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. He was a member of the Cercle Artistique de Luxembourg in 1902. He won the Grand-Duc Adolphe first prize.
From 1903, he traveled regularly to China. He received several commissions there, including a funerary monument for Viceroy Zhang Zhidong. He participated in several major construction works with the pioneering Luxembourg engineer Eugène Ruppert (1864-1950). But following the Chinese Revolution of 1911, construction sites came to a halt. The two men returned to Europe in 1912. Between 1910 and 1913 Mich executed a number of ornamental sculptures, including the two pilasters at the entrance to the facade of the State Bank and Savings Bank of Luxemburg.
The Luxembourg sculptor is known today mainly for his exotic creations. The bust of Chinese cook Chi-Fan, produced in series, is undoubtedly his most common work in private collections.