(Mont-de-Marsan, 1874 - Paris, 1946)
Princesse Achille Murat, Circa 1932-1934
Original bronze proof with black patina
Valsuani lost wax old cast iron, Paris
Founder's stamp at the base of the neck to the left C. VALSUANI / CIRE / PERDUE
Signed on the neck on the right C. Despiau
Dimensions without base:
Height: 36.5 cm
Width: 19.5 cm
Depth: 23 cm
On its original ebony base
Total height: 54.5 cm
Model executed circa 1932-1934
Bronze cast circa 1934 unnumbered
at least 3 proofs listed
+ Unique posthumous cast by Susse Fondeur for the Musée Despiau-Wlérick de Mont-de-Marsan produced in 1977-1980 from a plaster belonging to the MNAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
Provenance :
- Artist's studio, Paris
- Private collection, Paris
Exhibitions:
- Charles Despiau Sculptures et dessins, Musée Rodin, Paris, 1974, another proof (in gilded bronze) of the same model described and reproduced under n ° 76, as well as three plasters from the collections of the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, described and reproduced under n ° 77, n ° 78 and n ° 79
- Charles Despiau 1874-1946, traveling exhibition under the direction of Tetsuo Sakai in 7 museums in Japan, another test of the same model (unique posthumous font executed in 1977 by Susse Fondeur Paris, col. Musée Despiau-Wlérick, Mont-de- Marsan) under n ° 49:
. The Miyagi Museum of Art, June 7 to July 13, 1997
. Mie Prefectoral Art Museum, from July 19 to August 24, 1997
. Kumamoto Prefectoral Museum of Art, September 4 to October 5, 1997
. Ohara Museum of Art, from October 11 to November 16, 1997
. Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art, from November 22 to December 21, 1997
. Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, Kobe, January 6 to February 8, 1998
. The Museum of Modern Art, Ibaraki, February 14 to March 22, 1998
Selective bibliography:
- Les bustes de Charles Despiau, sculpteur français by Yvanhoé Rambosson in Formes, Tome XXXII, 1933, p. 363
- Hommage à Charles Despiau, sculpteur français in La Renaissance, June 1938, another proof of the same model reproduced on p. 9
- Sculpteurs de son temps by Jacques Baschet, Nouvelles Éditions Françaises, Paris, 1946, another test of the same model reproduced on p. 32
- Ch. Despiau by Waldemar George, 1954, another proof of the same model reproduced pl. 23
- Charles Despiau by Françoise Vrac, Mémoire de l'École du Louvre, Paris, unpublished, October 1974, p. 39
- Charles Despiau Sculptures et dessins, catalogue of the exhibition of the Musée Rodin, Paris, 1974, texts by Monique Laurent and Claude Roger-Marx, another proof (in gilded bronze) of the same model described and reproduced under n ° 76 , as well as three plasters from the collections of the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, described and reproduced under n ° 77, n ° 78 and n ° 79
- Charles Albert Despiau (1874-1946), Collections du Musée Municipal de Mont-de-Marsan, 1982, another proof of the same model (unique posthumous font made for the city of Mont-de-Marsan by Susse Fondeur Paris, col. Despiau-Wlérick Museum, Mont-de-Marsan, Inv. MM 78.11.19) is described and reproduced under n ° 56 on p. 48
- Charles Despiau (1874-1946) Catalogue Raisonné de l’Œuvre Sculpté by Élisabeth Lebon, Doctoral Thesis in Art History, University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, unpublished, 1995, catalogue 118
- Charles Despiau 1874-1946, catalogue of the traveling exhibition in Japan, notes by Élisabeth Lebon, The Yomiuri Shimbun & The Japan Association of Art Museums Spatial Design Consultants Co. Ltd., 1997, another print of the same model (single font posthumous carried out in 1977 by Susse Fondeur Paris, col. Musée Despiau-Wlérick, Mont-de-Marsan) described on p. 202 and reproduced in color on p. 156 under No. 49
- Listed in the Catalogue critique de l’œuvre sculpté de Charles Despiau currently in preparation by the Galerie Malaquais, under the direction of Mrs. Elisabeth Lebon, under the number 118-3B
Princess Achille Murat - Photo
"Magdeleine Marie-Louise de Chasseloup-Laubat, Princess Achille Murat (1901-1945) posed for Despiau at the instigation of her stepmother, patron and great lover of art. The 33-year-old mother of five at the time was truly gifted with a graceful physique that fit perfectly into the "type" sought by Despiau. The sculptor apparently made several drawings of the young woman, probably on the foot rather than the bust, because this champion of golf and water skiing also had an admirable body.
We find in the bust of Despiau the direct look, the elegant bearing of the head, the natural grace of the attitude, the character of a proud nobility of the model. The work is constructed from a rigorous general quadrangular volume. But the development of the face settles there with charming and sensual curves. The almond-shaped eye, the delicacy of the nostrils, the generosity of firm and plump flesh lighten this rigor. A real energy as well as a deep spirituality animate this portrait of a woman full of life ... "
Élisabeth Lebon, Charles Despiau 1874-1946, in catalogue of the traveling exhibition in Japan, The Yomiuri Shimbun & The Japan Association of Art Museums Spatial Design Consultants Co. Ltd., 1997, p. 202