Charles Despiau

CHARLES DESPIAU (Mont-de-Marsan, 1874 - Paris, 1946)
"Apollo", 1937.
Bronze.
Signed.
With foundry stamp.
Exhibitions: "European sculpture of the 20th century", European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM), Barcelona, 2014.
Reproduced in the catalog of this exhibition, edited by the Fundació de les Arts i els Artistes, 2014.
Measurements: 120 x 40 x 24 cm. Weight: 49 kg.
Charles Despiau's Apollo presents a slender waist and a robust torso. He gestures with both hands and holds a cloth over his right shoulder, as if coming out of the bathroom. This is a modern Apollonian version, which updates the canons of male beauty.
Irene Gras states that The sculptor Charles Despiau became one of the most outstanding French personalities of the interwar period. He trained at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts
of Decorative Arts, at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and in the workshop of
Louis-Ernest Barrias. Between 1907 and 1914 he also worked in Rodin's prestigious workshop, but the outbreak of World War I forced him to abandon the execution of a piece for a monument dedicated to the memory of Puvis de Chavannes, "The Genius of Eternal Rest", which he had commissioned from his master. During those years, he was associated with a group of sculptors gathered around Lucien Schnegg, such as An toine Bourdelle, Robert Wlérick, Léon-Ernest Drivier, François Pom pon, Louis Dejean or Alfred Jean Halou. However, it was not until 1927,
when, on the occasion of a major private exhibition at the Brummer Gallery in New York, Despiau achieved definitive success and recognition. Despiau's works can be found in numerous private collections around the world. As for museums, Despiau's works can be found, in particular in the National Museum of Modern Art in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art of the city of Paris, the Museum of Mont-de-Marsan, as well as numerous museums abroad, including the National Museum of Fine Arts in Algiers.