Charles Despiau (November 4, 1874 – October 30, 1946) was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

sculptor and teacher. He also worked as a draftsman, graphic artist and book illustrator.

Early life

Charles-Albert Despiau was born at

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 ...

, Landes and attended first the

École des Arts Décoratifs École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

and later the

École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in nor ...

. He began exhibiting at the

Salon des Artistes Français The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

, from 1898 to 1900; then at the less academic

Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (SNBA; ; ) was the term under which two groups of French artists united, the first for some exhibitions in the early 1860s, the second since 1890 for annual exhibitions. 1862 Established in 1862 by the painter a ...

, where he showed from 1901 to 1921, and finally to the

Salon des Tuileries The Salon des Tuileries was an annual art exhibition for painting and sculpture, created June 14, 1923, co-founded by painters Albert Besnard and Bessie Davidson, sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, architect Auguste Perret, and others. The first year's ...

, where he exhibited from 1923 to 1944.

Career

French sculptor

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

hired him as an assistant in 1907. Despiau worked with Rodin, as well as doing his own sculpture. In 1914, when he was drafted for service in the

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

unit in World War I. He taught sculpture classes for many years at

Académie Scandinave Académie Scandinave (English: ''Scandinavian Academy'') was a private art academy in Paris that existed between 1919 and 1935. The school was located in the Maison Watteau art gallery, at no. 6 rue Jules-Chaplain. It was free and focused on figu ...

in Paris. Returning to making sculpture after the war, his success was established with his one-man show at the Brummer Gallery in New York in late 1927. He died on October 30, 1946, in Paris. Despiau was not a prolific sculptor, preferring to work for as long as it took to realize his vision. There are several surviving plaster statues which repeat a model with only slight variations. His works, mostly portraits and nudes exemplifying a calm

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...

, are in the collections of over thirty museums in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and over 100 museums around the world, including the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

. The

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

in New York owns the bronze ''Assia'', perhaps his best-known work. The largest collection is in his native Mont-de-Marsan, in a museum he shares with

Robert Wlérick The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

, established in the Donjon Lacataye. Despiau produced a total of 150 sculptures and 1,000 drawings over a fifty-year career.

References

External links

Despiau at www.ilovefiguresculpture.com
(Web gallery of 20th Century figure sculpture)
Charles Despiau website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Despiau, Charles 1874 births 1946 deaths People from Mont-de-Marsan École des Beaux-Arts alumni French military personnel of World War I 20th-century French sculptors French male sculptors École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs alumni