Albert Bouquillon (1908-1997) - “water Carrier”

Bronze proof with strongly nuanced brown patina Italian cast iron marked Roma Signed “A. Bouquillon” and dated “1938” on the terrace on the right This sculpture was executed by the artist during his stay in Rome, at the Villa Medici. Height: 60 cm Ref: Model listed under number 1935-4, page 92 of the catalog raisonné of the works of Albert Bouquillon “Figurative evolution” published by Silvana Editoriale – Collective work. Biography: Albert BOUQUILLON (1908-1997) Albert Bouquillon was born on August 18, 1908 in Douai. The family environment will help to awaken his artistic vocation because his father, who loves drawing and painting, is a professional painter and decorator. At the age of 12, he enrolled in the Douai Academic Schools, and under the direction of his teachers, he learned the techniques of drawing, painting, sculpture and architecture. His years of learning will be useful to him when he decides to apply to the prestigious Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris. To his great joy, he came first in the entrance exam in 1926. He hesitated in architecture and painting, and, under the influence of two of his teachers, Victor Méreau and Alexandre Descatoire, pushed him towards sculpture. He entered the workshop of Jean-Antoine Injalbert on October 18, 1926, taken over by Henri Bouchard in 1929. He remained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts until 1934 but his schooling was interrupted between 1928 and 1929 due to service. military. He received the First Grand Prix of Rome on July 12, 1934. Thanks to a state travel grant, he visited Greece and Constantinople in September 1934. Then, there were numerous trips to Italy where he learned the language. he will speak fluently. Returning to Paris in 1938, he was mobilized the following year in Lorraine. Retirement in 1940 took him to Albi, and it was in a workshop lent by the city that he began his life as a sculptor. There he met his wife, Françoise Orange. Return to Paris in 1941. He works tirelessly. Official orders are pouring in. 1946 saw the first exhibition of his works in Douai. In 1952, he was elected President of the Sculpture Section of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. In a barely emerging Europe he traveled for painting in the Netherlands, for sculpture in Spain. In January 1956, he was named Knight in the order of the Legion of Honor. The sixties and seventies were particularly fruitful creatively. He was also a professor at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Appliqués until 1971. He received the Populist Prize with “The Blind Man” which was thus rewarded, one of the most accomplished, most soberly expressive pieces of modern sculpture, according to the review. In 1990, the city of Paris commissioned a monumental work from him, “Le Porteur de Viande” intended to recall the activity of the Vaugirard Abattoirs in the 15th arrondissement transformed into a public park, the Parc Georges Brassens. It will be inaugurated in 1991. Albert Bouquillon was then 83 years old. He worked until the end of 1995 and died on January 11, 1997 in Paris at the age of 89 Galerie Paris Manaus