Edmond Moirignot (1913-2002) - “awakening”

Bronze proof with black patina Lost wax casting by Godard Signed on the back of the foot Numbered 9/12 Black marble base Circa 1970/1975 Height: 35 cm Blblio: Model referenced under number 91 – page 50 of the catalog raisonné – FVW Editions Biography: “With Alberto Giacometti and Germaine Richier, the sculptor Edmond Moirignot (1913-2002) belongs to a family of sculptors who, after the war, renewed figurative sculpture to express with a new intensity man and his drama . His work affirms faith in the being who thinks and loves. The soul is its center of gravity and each sculpture thus creates an infinite space. It expresses the meditation, even the melancholy of those who wonder about time, life, the world and nothingness. It is a universe that seems to come from the depths of the ages while being completely of our time. » Born October 21, 1913 His father runs a silk flower factory. His mother, Flore, was an employee. Maternal family: all are ivory sculptors in Dieppe: great fascination with Edmond. At the age of 15, he apprenticed with his maternal uncle to learn ivory sculpture against his father's advice. He is passionate about direct pruning. At the beginning of the 20th century, we discovered Africa, it fascinated. The artists saw in African art only a source of inspiration for simplified forms, an element of style which would lead to Art Deco sculpture. Others, like Moirignot, perceive the sacred, spiritual energy of his fetishes. At the age of 18, and against his father's wishes, he entered the Beaux-Arts school, a student of Boucher, a teacher who allowed his students to flourish and find their own personality. He takes on odd jobs to survive and continue his learning and his art. In the morning: fine arts student, Afternoon: carves ivory at his uncle's house. Main influences: Carpeaux, Claudel, and Rodin. Later Giacometti, Germaine Richier. Other influences: Greece (he stays there regularly thanks to his friend Papas.) - Baudelaire (many sculptures are inspired by his poems). From 1939 to 1945: Mobilized. Fighter then 5 years prisoner in Germany. He requires himself to practice drawing and watercolor every day. After the war, First nervous breakdown. 1945: meeting with Marguerite. “In the exaltation of his nervous nature, he hunts down possible illuminations and above all this light, the physical one, which clings to the roughness of his bronzes, the interior one above all, like a hope never extinguished, refusal of dark night where the world seems to be locked away, at the heart of matter, its human part. He knows that the artist does not describe what he sees, but the way in which he sees it and the emotion that this vision awakens. The form in Moirignot is at the service of this spirit, which is why in the 1950s he began to free the body from its carnal weight to say only the essential, love, joy, innocence. , free, light, spiritual silhouettes. The being completely concentrated in its reason for being, its very essence and always this harmony, this delicacy which makes us forget all traces of work. » 1950: First personal exhibition. Very fertile between 1955 and 1985; Moirignot is one of the rare artists who practices both modeling and direct carving (mastered very early thanks to working with ivory) During this period, every afternoon, he goes to the Académie de la Grande Chaumière to draw the naked. This perfect knowledge of the body obtained through this daily exercise will be found in his sculpture. Between 1963 and 1983 he taught sculpture in a comic school in Montparnasse. “Despite the successive depressive crises and this manic-depressive state which was to haunt Moirignot without respite, the artist believes in beauty, its saving force, in the hope that it supposes, in the faith in the man that 'she implies. » (Claude Jeancolas) From 1960, psychological disorders increasingly affected him: he was manic-depressive. Life for Marguerite is more and more difficult, he is nervous, gloomy, unbearable. Following his health problems, he divorced in 1990, moved into his workshop, began to associate with unsavory strangers and women from bad lives, but always remained very active in his work. 1991: tragedy: his daughter Francine dies following anorexia. He will never recover from this. 1993: his mental health deteriorates: suffering from schizophrenia. 1994: appointment of a curator with his agreement. Died on July 2, 2002, shortly after his son (died in April 2002 from a fall in the mountains). Galerie Paris Manaus Sold with invoice and certificate Very good state of conservation General delivery conditions: We organize delivery worldwide. A quote on request will be provided to you at the time of your purchase.