DEVELON
71
FIG. 11 (center): Granary
door. Dogon, Bandiagara
Escarpment, Mali.
Ewa and Yves Develon Collection.
Photo © Ewa Develon.
FIG. 12 (bottom): View
of Ewa and Yves Develon’s
apartment. Paris, before
1979.
Photo © DR.
FIG. 10: View of Ewa
and Yves Develon’s
apartment. Paris, summer
2018.
Photo © Ewa Develon.
teracted with the public and talked about the pieces.
His fondness for communicating was expressed in the
way he received his clients, but he also produced an
abundance of literature, ranging from well-informed
and scholarly descriptions to popular articles, and
even some more poetic texts intended to capture the
spirit of a work. Ewa took care of the administrative
and accounting parts of the business and also prepared
comprehensive documentation fi les for each piece they
had. Most importantly, she brought the skills she had
acquired as an architect to producing gallery installations
that mirrored the high level of the works they
featured. Elegantly mounted by Eugène Betra, the
sculptures were shown in an uncluttered and cleanlined
setting following principles that fostered a dialog
between African art and contemporary
design. This aesthetic was also applied
to the arrangement of their apartments.
THE DEVELON TASTE
The Devlons’ personal collection started
in the early 1970s and grew to become
a summary of the most beautiful pieces
that passed through Ewa’s and Yves’
hands. Above and beyond a scrupulous
attention to authenticity, what were the
criteria and choices that guided them in
their selection of this ensemble?
While their strong attachment to the
sculpture of Nigeria and Cameroon
might have been the result of a “historical
opportunity,” it speaks above all
to the couple’s predilection for a powerful
and even expressionistic aesthetic.
Throughout the years, Yves systematically
eschewed the dictates of fad and
fashion. “The audacity of so-called ‘good taste’ …
too often consists of favoring natural forms, while
sidestepping and rejecting unknown ones, as if to
show that one cannot allow the ‘Picasso train’ to pass
without latching onto it.”5 The interest in Fang art, so