After Pierre Lenoir

After PIERRE LENOIR (France, 1879-1953)
Monumental jardinière in Art Deco style, second third of the 20th century.
In patinated bronze.
Measurements: 140 x 90 x 45 cm.

Large sculptural jardinière representing a pair of female figures holding an Etruscan-inspired urn. They carry it with the back, exhibiting their elegant silhouettes, of naked torso and with a fine gauze adhered to the turned legs. Of Art Deco style, although from a later period, they manage to integrate the purity of lines characteristic of this movement with the feminine sensuality that emanates from the figures. The whole is enhanced by an extemporaneous aura. It has been made entirely in solid bronze, following the technique of hot melting or lost wax. The piece is inspired by decorative sculptures by Pierre Lenoir.

Pierre Lenoir, French sculptor and medalist, was one of the Breton sculptors born in the 1880s who studied together at the École régionale des Beaux-Arts in Rennes: Jean Boucher, Louis-Henri Nicot, Armel-Beaufils, Paul Le Goff, Eloi Robert, Albert Bourget and Francis Renaud. He was the son of the sculptor Charles Joseph Lenoir. He married the painter Mathilde Berthe Thorel, who was also called Mathilde Lenoir. He studied at the École des beaux-arts in Rennes and at the École des beaux-arts in Paris. He became director of the École des beaux-arts de Rennes and in 1931 was named Knight of the Legion of Honor. He died on September 9, 1953 and is buried in the Thorel family tomb in the Père-Lachaise cemetery. A plaque marks his residence between 1914 and 1953 at 12 rue d'Auteuil in Paris. Works of his are kept in the Victoria and Albert Museum.