Sculpture By Sebastien 1909-1990

Superb bronze sculpture with a green nuanced patinaHeight 73cm x 65cm x 30cmStamp of the SUSSE foundry in Paris numbered 5 out of 8 and dated 1941clarification on the eyes which are burgaux (shell)French ceramist, painter, sculptor and photographerBorn in 1909 in Paris, Gabriel-Sébastien Simonet, known as Sébastien, trained at the Ecole Boule (cabinetmaking section), was top of his class in 1928. Talented, he began a career as a decorator working with Etienne Kohlmann (artistic director of the Magasin du Louvre workshops), then with Maurice Dufrêne at the Maitrise des Galeries Lafayette. Attracted by painting and sculpture, he approached these mediums as an autodidact. In 1930, taking advantage of his military service in Morocco, he practiced ceramics in a pottery village in the desert valley of Ourika (High Atlas) then tried his hand at terracotta sculpture in the capital in Marrakech, with figures in meditation. Returning to Paris in 1932, he settled in the artistic district, on rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs. Winner in 1936 of the Blumenthal Foundation, his remarkable work allowed him to participate in the 1937 International Exhibition and to exhibit internationally in New York, San Francisco and Milan (gold medal 1939). During the war, from 1940 until 1944, he took refuge in the south of France in Vallauris. He entered the Madoura ceramics workshop to create sculpted pieces, and there met local artists and the art dealer Aimé Maegth, with whom he became friends. The exhibitions followed one after the other and the young man's talent struck people's minds, earning him the name 'magician of the land of Vallauris' with sculptures close to Romanesque art. After the war, he returned to Paris and participated in various exhibitions and fairs (Salon des Artistes Décorateurs, Salon d'Automne, Salon de l'Imagerie, Salon d'Art Sacré, Salon de la peinture, etc.). During his many stays in Vallauris, he rubbed shoulders with the artistic celebrities of his time such as Picasso and Jean Cocteau. A painter and ceramic sculptor, he continued to create until the end of his life. His work bears witness to his attachment to his youthful trip to Morocco, to unglazed terracotta and its matte appearance. His paintings and ceramic pieces are found in many French public collections. After his death in 1990, a Sébastien art center was created in 1993 in Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer (Var), thanks to a legacy of 182 pieces including paintings, drawings and watercolors, terracotta and bronzes. Works are also present at "La Piscine" in Roubaix. Provenance of this piece; Ex-Collection of Serge MERLIN, film and especially theater actor 1932-2019 free shipping worldwide