Marcel GIMOND (1894-1961). Bust of Anne Desclos, known as Do - Lot 305

Marcel GIMOND (1894-1961). Bust of Anne Desclos, known as Dominique Aury. Marcel Gimond is a major figure in French sculpture, according to the appraisal website France Estimations, notably for his statues and busts of artistic and political figures. A specialist in the creation of busts - he produced over 170 throughout his career - Marcel Gimond considered the face as architecture. Marcel Gimond and his wife traveled extensively to museums to discover masterpieces from various ancient civilizations, classical models that inspired him. In 1912, after studying in Lyon, Marcel Gimond joined Louis Prost's modeling workshop at the École des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, graduating in 1917. On June 2, 1917, he married Julie Chorel. This student of modeling at the Beaux-Arts de Lyon is the niece of sculptor Jean Chorel, who was best man at their wedding. He worked with Aristide Maillol until 1920. In Cagnes-sur-mer, he met Auguste Renoir, who encouraged him. In 1920, he joins the Ziniars group and, with them, the Salon du Sud-Est in Lyon. In 1922, he settled in Paris, in Auguste Renoir's former studio, which his son Jean Renoir made available to him. In 1922, he exhibited for the first time at the Salon d'Automne and the Salon des Indépendants, in which he participated regularly until 1928. Since its foundation in 1923, he has also exhibited at the Salon des Tuileries. In 1936, he painted Les Fleurs sur le parvis des droits de l'homme in the Trocadero gardens in Paris. In 1940, Marcel Gimond left Paris to settle in the free zone, in Lyon, then in Aix-en-Provence, where he met up with artist friends; he spent several summers in Saint-Félicien, at the home of the poet Charles Forot. From 1946 to 1960, he directed a studio at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Marcel Gimond is known for his busts of political and artistic figures. He was the official sculptor of French President Vincent Auriol. He was also responsible for two bas-reliefs in the lobby of the newspaper L'Humanité, in tribute to Marcel Cachin and Gabriel Péri. After his death, Lyon painter Roger Forissier, whom he had met in 1957, founded a committee to perpetuate his memory. The Lycée polyvalent in Aubenas, Ardèche, bears his name. The artist mastered the art of sculptural portraiture of women, using a wide variety of techniques (bronze, stoneware, plaster, terracotta).