Anna Fanny Marguerite Quinquaud (1890–1984) was a French explorer and award-winning sculptor. From 1925, she travelled to the French-speaking countries of East Africa where she created numerous sculptures and water colours inspired by her impressions of the local people. She exhibited them at the

Galerie Charpentier The Galerie Charpentier was a gallery of historic and contemporary art in Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048 ...

and at the

Paris Colonial Exposition The Paris Colonial Exhibition (or "''Exposition coloniale internationale''", International Colonial Exhibition) was a six-month colonial exhibition held in Paris, France, in 1931 that attempted to display the diverse cultures and immense resour ...

in 1931. In 1932, she visited Ethiopia where she created a bust of

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I (born Tafari Makonnen or ''Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Lij, Lij'' Tafari; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as the Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles, Rege ...

. Her work is included in the collection of the musée Despiau-Wlérick in

Mont-de-Marsan Mont-de-Marsan (; Gascon dialect, Occitan: ''Lo Mont de Marçan'') is a communes of France, commune and capital of the Landes (department), Landes Departments of France, department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Population Milit ...

, France.

Early life and education

Born on 5 March 1890 in Paris, Anna Fanny Marguerite Quinquaud was the fourth child of the dermatologist Charles-Eugène Quinquaud (1841–1894) and Thérèse Phanie Caillaux (1859–1928), a sculptor, who introduced her to the art of sculpting. Following the death of her father, she spent her summers on the family's property at Lafat in the

Creuse Creuse (; or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the east, Cor ...

where her mother had a studio. It was at Lafat when only 12 years old that she created a terracotta relief titled "La Bergère et ses moutons". When she was 17, she was commissioned to create a bust of the politician Armand Fourot for

Évaux-les-Bains Évaux-les-Bains (; ) is a commune in the Creuse department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in central France. History A spa town founded by the Romans in the first century, who developed thermal baths and called the place “Ivaonum,” p ...

. Quinquaud received further instruction under Blanche Laurent before being admitted to the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

in 1918 where she studied under Laurent Marqueste and Victor Ségoffin.

Career

In 1924, the École des Beaux-Arts awarded her a

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

scholarship, including a year's study in Rome. However quite unusually for a young woman of her day, she decided instead to travel to Africa in 1925–26, visiting the

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

and

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

, accompanied only by her Sudanese boys who carried her sculptures, clothes and equipment. Inspired by the local people, she portrayed them in her sculptures. Thanks to her careful observation of their bodies and faces, her busts, bronzes and artwork depicted African women during pregnancy, carrying water or at work. She subsequently returned to Africa in 1930–31, this time at her own expense, visiting the Niger, the

Fouta Djallon Fouta Djallon (, , ; ) is a Highland (geography), highland region in the center of Guinea, roughly corresponding with Middle Guinea, in West Africa. Etymology The Fulani people call the region Fouta Jallon Kingdom, Fuuta-Jaloo ( ) in the Pular l ...

region of

French Guinea French Guinea () was a French colonial possession in West Africa. Its borders, while changed over time, were in 1958 those of the current independent nation of Guinea. French Guinea was established by France in 1891, within the same borders as ...

and

Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; ; Koyra Chiini: ; ) is an ancient city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. It is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali, having a population of 32,460 in the 2018 census. ...

. Based in

Pita Pita ( or ; ) or pitta (British English), also known as Arabic bread (, ), as Lebanese bread and as kmaj (from the Persian ''kumaj''), is a family of yeast- leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Levant ...

, over a period of eight months she came into contact with the

Fula Fula may refer to: *Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe) *Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani) **The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language **The Fula variety known as the Pular language **The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde *Fula alpha ...

, Coniagui and

Bassari people The Bassari are an ethnic group who live primarily in Senegal, with some diaspora into Gambia, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. They are a matrilineal society stratified into different co ed social groups by age. The Bassari speak a Tenda language called ...

. Her creations include the tall beauty Aissatou, the rather sulky Kadé, Tougué's daughter, Nénégalley, daughter of Tierno Moktar, chief of Pita, a little Fula girl, her "Maternité Pita", holding a baby, and "Archer coniagui" complete with bow. Aspiring to capture the essence of these people, she commented: "Isn't it the artist's role to reveal to the non-initiate what he is unable to see?" Whether in wood, bronze or terracotta, her works depict the slim, haughty silhouettes of these figures, also revealing their gestures and movements. Many of her works from this expedition were exhibited at the Galerie Charpentier in Paris and at the 1931 Paris Colonial Exposition. In 1932, she visited Africa for the third and last time, visiting

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

and

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, once again bringing back her creations. These and earlier works were exhibited at the

Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne The ''Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne'' (International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life) was held from 25 May to 25 November 1937 in Paris, France. Both the Palais de Chaillot, housing the Mu ...

in 1937. In later life, she participated in work on several monuments in Normandy, including the Calvaire Saint-Pierre Memorial in

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

(1961) and plaster reliefs for the Jean Moulin de Venoix school (1978). Anna Quinquaud died on 25 December 1984 at

Fontenay-Trésigny Fontenay-Trésigny () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. Location Fontenay-Trésigny is located 43 km southeast of ...

Awards and distinctions

Anna Quinquaud received many awards, including: *1914: Prix de sculptures décerné par l’Union des Femmes Peintres, Sculpteurs, Graveurs et Décorateurs *1924:

, second prize *1924: Prix de l'Afrique Occidentale Française *1932: Prix de Madagascar *1932:

Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was o ...

*1946: Elected to the

Académie des sciences d'outre-mer Académie des sciences d'outre-mer (formerly ) is a learned society created in 1922 whose field of activity is mainly geography and general history in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Oceania. Its headquarters are located in the 16th arrondissement ...

*1952: Grand prix des Arts décoratifs d'outre-mer

References

External links

Illustrated biography from Galerie Dumonteil
with photo of Quinquaud creating a bust of

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quinquaud, Anna 1890 births 1984 deaths 20th-century French sculptors 20th-century French explorers École des Beaux-Arts alumni Prix de Rome for sculpture Knights of the Legion of Honour Sculptors from Paris 20th-century French women sculptors Female explorers

Early life and education

Career

Awards and distinctions

Further reading

References

External links