Hans
Janner was possibly the best of the Great Lakes fish decoy carvers and
spear makers.
A resident of Mt. Clemens,
the self-proclaimed "Capital of Ice Fishing", Janner's
fish
and duck decoys date from the 1930's.
Hans Janner / Rock Bass Decoy
Carved, painted wood with glass eyes and attached metal fins.
Circa 1935
As
illustrated by these examples from that period, Janner's fish were fancifully
shaped, wtih extravagantly curvaceous fins and and highly fluid bodylines.
Hans Janner / Rainbow Trout Decoy
Carved, painted wood with glass eyes and attached metal fins..
Circa 1938
Hans Janner / Rainbow Trout Decoy
Carved,
painted wood with attached metal
fins and glass eyes
Length 12". Circa 1935
Hans Janner / Bass Decoy
Carved,
painted wood with attached metal
fins and glass eyes
Length 12". Circa 1936
Janner's
fish carvings are unique and are considered the finest examples of the
art. They are certainly among the most joyous representations of natural
wildlife ever created by an American artist.
Hans Janner / Trout Decoy
Carved, painted wood with attached metal fins and glass eyes.
Circa 1940's
Janner
was a skilled metalworker and the fins on his creations were typically
graced with fancifully curved fins that seem to celebrate each fish's
natural lines.
Hans Janner / Bass Decoy
Carved Walnut with traces of silver paint, attached metal fins and glass eyes
Length 12", Circa 1934
Hans Janner / Bass Decoy
Carved walnut with traces of paint. Glass eyes and attached metal fins.
Circa 1931
Hans Janner / Bass Decoy
Carved Wood with attached metal fins and glass eyes
Length 12". Circa 1932
In
addition to his skill as a woodworker, Mr. Janner was also a superb
metal worker and spearmaker. His ice-fishing spears are widely
collected and considered among the very finest examples of
the form.
Hans Janner & Andy Trombley/ Bass Decoy
Carved by Hans Janner, Sr. and painted by Andy
Trombley,
Length 12", circa 1943.
Mr.
Janner was the father-in-law of Andy
Trombley, another prominent carver
from the Mt. Clemens area and
was the father of both Hans Jr. and Augie
Janner,
who were both well-known sportmen and carvers.
As
illustrated by the example above, collaboration between the carvers
was
frequent and highly successfully, with some contibuting carved bodies,
others fins and leather tails and still others, like Trombley,
doing
the finishing and painting with extremely sophisticated techniques.
Trombley was credited with the discovery of the use of nylon stockings
as paint masking devices to replicate the intricate, shimmering
appearance
of a fish's scales. |