François Victor Cogné (1876–1952). Birth, Terracotta, First Half Of The 20th Century

François Victor Cogné (1876–1952)
Born in the first half of the 20th century
Original terracotta piece signed with a point, 32 × 24 × 17 cm. A sculptor with a remarkable career, François Cogné, born in Aubin in the Aveyron region, ranks among the great official portraitists of the first half of the 20th century. Trained at the École Boulle and later at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français and, throughout his career, created portraits of many prominent figures of his time. His most famous work is undoubtedly the monumental statue of Georges Clemenceau on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. His career, closely tied to public commissions and figures of power, thus spans several decades of French history.
This small terracotta piece reveals a much more intimate and enigmatic side of his work. A child appears to be emerging from a mass of raw material, as if extricating itself from rock or the earth itself.
The composition evokes the ancient theme of petrogenesis, literally “birth from stone.” In the Roman Mithraic cult, he miraculously emerges from a rock.
A singular work in the oeuvre of a sculptor best known for the monumental scale of his official commissions.