Édouard Houssin

ÉDOUARD HOUSSIN (France, 1847-1919).
"Louise Demont.
Patinated bronze and "verde antico" marble pedestal.
Signed.
Measurements: 28 x 14 x 10 cm.
This bust represents Louise Demont at the age of six. Daughter of the painter and friend of Houssin, Adrien Demont, her maternal grandfather was Jules Breton, and she married Albert Ball, grandson of Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse.
The bust of Louise Demont and that of her sister Adrienne were used by the Sèvres manufacture as models for biscuit editions, thus creating great popularity for the model. The work is part of the French sculptural production of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, characterized by the interest in character portraiture and naturalistic representation of the figure. The piece stands out for its attention to modeling and the search for an individualized expression, common features in the sculpture of this period.
Édouard Charles Marie Houssin trained at the Academic Schools of Douai and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, under the direction of Henri Lemaire and François Jouffroy. He began exhibiting in 1868 and served as a professor of sculpture in Douai (1871-1877) before returning to Paris, where he participated regularly in the Salon, winning mentions and medals.
In 1894 he was appointed professor of modeling at the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres, a position he held until his death.