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French sculpture has been an original and influential component of world art since the Middle Ages. The first known French sculptures date to theUpper Paleolithic age. French sculpture originally copied ancient Roman models, then found its own original form in the decoration ofGothic architecture. French sculptors produced important works ofBaroque sculpture for the decoration of thePalace of Versailles. In the 19th century, the sculptorsAuguste Rodin andEdgar Degas created a more personal and non-realistic style, which led the way tomodernism in the 20th century, and the sculpture ofPablo Picasso,Georges Braque,Marcel Duchamp andJean Arp.
The earliest undisputed examples of sculpture belong to theAurignacian culture, which was located in Europe and southwest Asia and active at the beginning of theUpper Paleolithic. As well as producing some of the earliest knowncave art, the people of this culture developed finely-crafted stone tools, manufacturing pendants, bracelets, ivory beads, and bone-flutes, as well as three-dimensional figurines.[1][2]
Two of the largest prehistoric sculptures can be found at theTuc d'Audobert caves in France, where around 12–17,000 years ago a sculptor used a spatula-like stone tool and fingers to model a pair of large bison in clay against a limestone rock.[3]
Human forms and animals were common in the early sculpture, often in the form of bas-relief. Figures expressed emotion, and were often distorted; the forms of women were often strangely obese. TheVenus of Laussel is one of the earliest examples.[4] With the beginning of theMesolithic the amount of figurative sculpture diminished, and animals predominated, expressing mobility and vigor.[4] In the later Mesolithic period, the sculpture became less realistic and turned toward abstract, ornamental deocrative forms, which continued through the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. The arrival of the Celts, Ligures and Iberian peoples did not radically change the style. Human forms were usually carves simply as stylized silhouettes. On the coast of the Mediterranean, sculptors made friezes of warriors and various deities seated with their legs crossed.[4]
The Roman conquest of Gaul imposed the Roman style, featuring realism and celebration of grandeur and power.Gallo-Roman sculptors of Gaul modified the Roman style to make it more delicate and personal. Sculpture flourished in the form of statuettes, bronze vases, and subjects on domestic and religious themes. Early Christian symbolism soon appeared in sculptural works such as sarcophagi, but it was largely discouraged by church leaders who feared a return to the worship of idols.[5]
Gallic sculpture showed the influence not only of Roman sculpture, but also of Hellenic sculpture, from workshops in central Italy. One characteristic example is the statue of Medea in the Museum ofArles, from the 1st century.[6]
The invasion of Roman Gaul by the Burgundians, Celtes, Visigoths slowed the development of sculpture beyond traditional decorative designs. The age ofCharlemagne restored a certain prestige to the arts, but the sculpture was not original or skilled, and after the death of Charlemagne little important sculpture appeared until the reign of theCapetian dynasty (987–1328)[5]
Under theCapetian dynasty, the Kingdom of France was gradually returned to calm, stability and prosperity. A reform of the church and the founding of new religious orders led to important commands for sculptures, especially for the newCluny Abbey (1088–1108) of the Benedictine order. Other Abbeys across France imitated its use of sculptural decoriation.
The earliest sculptural decorations on altars and the interior surfaces of churches, on lintels, over doorways and particularly on the capitals of columns, which were commonly adorned with images of biblical figures and real or mythical animals. Most of the work was almost flat with little attempt at realism. Some of the earliest Romanesque sculpture in France is found atSaint-Génis-des-Fontaines Abbey (1019–1020) in the eastern Pyrenees. A lintel over a doorway portrays Christ on a throne, in a frame supported by two angels, and flanked by the apostles, The forms of the apostles are defined by the shapes of the arches into which they are squeezed.[7] This "Christ in Majesty" design over the central doorway became a common feature for churches and Cathedrals across France in the Romanesqua dn Gothic period.[8]
In the later Romanesque period, sculpture was often used to at the most important points, such as the facades, to emphasize the lines of the structure. It often used geometric designs (circles, squares, triangles). Spaces were crowded with figures, which were often contorted so they seemed to be dancing. The sculpture was most profuse on the capitals of columns and on the portals, where it was used to present very complex and extended biblical stories. Sculptors also depicted a large number of animals, both real and imaginary, includingchimeras,sirens, lions, and a wide range of monsters. Imagination usually prevailed over realism.[9]
The southwest of France, aroundToulouse, had a particular style, more vivid and active than the north. A remarkable group of Romanesque sculpture is found in the decoration of theBasilica of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse inToulouse, dating to the late 11th and early 12th century. The figures are much more realistic, and make skillful use of shadows and light to bring out the details. One of the most distinctive works is the altar table, signed by its sculptor, Bernardus Geldvinus. He also made the seven sculptural reliefs found in the ambulatory of the cathedral.[7]
Other remarkable examples of Romaesque sculpture are found on the tympanum and the capitals of the columns of the cloister ofMoissac Abbey in Mossac, Tarne-et-Garonne, and the columns of the abbey church of Saint-Marie inSouillac in theLot Department. Sculptors in Burgundy also produced distinctive works for the decoration of the churches there, particularly forSaint-Philibert de Tournus Abbey (about 1100). The Typanum ofVézelay Abbey, a pilgrimage church dedicated by the Pope in 1132, shows the state of the art of Romanessque sculpture at the end of the Romanesque and beginning of the Gothic period.[7]
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At the beginning of the 12th century, a renewal of sculptural styles began in France. During years of peace, the birthrate had greatly increased, and larger churches and cathedrals were needed. The cathedral replaced the abbey as the major religious institution, and the Bishop replaced the Abbot as the primary figure determining artistic style. The interiors of churches were higher, with larger windows, and filled with light, calling for a different kind of sculpture. The exteriors were also much higher, and needed statuary visible and readable from down below. Sculptors abandoned the exotic foliage borrowed from earlier sculptural styles, such as the acanthus and palmetto, in favor of more local forms, such as the grape leaf and oak leaf pattern. The human forms were no longer twisted and tortured to fit the space; they took on a more natural appearance. The sculpture was expected to be a book written in stone, for the worshippers to read.Abbot Suger, who directed the construction of the first Gothic abbey in Saint-Denis, observed, "Art conducts human souls by the use of material things to reach the immaterial." One Gothic sculptural innovation, borrowed from the ancient Greeks, was the column in the form of a human figure, Another was the use of sculpture of various mythical creatures, such as thegargoyle and thechimera, to warn the faithful of the dangers outside the church. (The gargoyles also had the practical application of projecting rain water away from the walls.)[10]
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In the 14th century, Archeological excavations in Rome and Florence led to the rediscovery of classical statuary, and the beginning of the Renaissance. Small bronze models of the classical works were imported and sold to wealthy French patrons, and French artists began to visit Italy to see for themselves.Charles VIII brought artists from Naples and Florence to Paris.Louis XII employed Italian sculptors.Francis I invitedLeonardo da Vinci,Francesco Primaticcio andBenvenuto Cellini to work in France. They formed new style and school of art, theSchool of Fontainebleau, for the decoration of his chateau. He sent Primaticcio back to Italy to acquire molds of classical sculpture; he returned with 133 cases of sculpture. Despite this Italian competition, the best-known French sculptors, includingLigier Richier andMichel Colombe, continued to work in the traditional Gothic style, particularly in the statuary of tombs.Michel Colombe made an elegantTomb of Francis II, Duke of Brittany (1502–07) with a statue of his daughter,Anne of Brittany, asPrudence at his side. Richier made a particularly Gothic sculpture of a martyred saint, theCadaver Tomb of René of Chalon portrayingRené of Chalon as he would look three years after his death, a decayed corpse holding his own heart in his hand.[11]
The first major French sculptor of the Renaissance wasJean Goujon (1510–1565), also a noted graphic illustrator, whose work inbas-relief perfectly captured and refined the Italian style. He arrived in Paris in 1544 and worked closely with the architectPierre Lescot on the decoration of theLouvre, theFontaine des Innocents, several figures for the facade of theHôtel de Ville, Paris, and a group of bas reliefs of the Four Seasons, made for the courtyard façade of the hôtel of Jacques de Ligeris, now in theMusee Carnavalet in Paris. Goujon was a Protestant, and in 1562, when theFrench Wars of Religion began, he left France for Italy, where he is believed to have died in 1563.[11]
Other notable sculptors of the French Renaissance includedPierre Bontemps (1505–1568), collaborator with architectPhilibert Delorme. He was the principal creator of the sculpture of the tomb ofFrancis I, which displayed his precise knowledge of anatomy and his ability to vividly portray a multitude of battles, scenes and personalities, in fifty-four separate bas-reliefs around the base of the tomb.[11]
Germain Pilon (1535–1590) was another major figure. He was a pupil of Bontemps, a fierce proponent of the Catholic side in theWars of Religion and Counter-Reform. He was also an excellent portraitist and student of anatomy and detail. His major works included a monument for the heart ofHenry II of France, based on a drawing ofFrancesco Primaticcio, the tombs ofHenry II of France andCatherine de Medicis, and a variety of other religious works.
French sculpture at the end of the 16th century was based largely on ancient Roman models. Bartélémy Prieur was a student of Pilon and royal sculptor ofHenry IV, and Jacques Sarrazin was court sculptor forLouis XIII. They studied in Rome and copied Roman models. The two brothers François Angiers and Michel Angiers were also longtime students in Rome. Their work was highly refined and came close to perfection in execution, but lacked originality, emotion or drama. The major stylistic innovation in French sculpture was the introduction of the equestrian statue of the King on horseback, designed for placement in central city squares. The first example was the bronze equestrian statue ofHenry IV of France, with the horse by Jean de Boulougne, a French sculptor employed in Florence by the Medicis, and the King byFerdinando Tacca, his student. The statue was destroyed during the French Revolution.[12]
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The reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715) largely coincided with the era ofBaroque sculpture, but the French King resisted the Baroque style. The great master of Baroque sculpture,Bernini, made one trip to Paris, and criticized the work of French sculptors as "a style that is small, sad, and gloomy." He made a statue of the King, saw his plan for facade of the Louvre rejected, and departed after six months. Louis XIV and his ministers instead used a more classical style of sculpture as method of illustrating the majesty of the King and his reign. The FrenchRoyal Academy of Painting and Sculpture had been created in 1648. The students were given as their guide the King's declaration: "I confide in you the thing most precious in the world; my fame."[13] The King launched one of the largest sculptural projects ever, the decoration of thePalace of Versailles and its vast gardens and numerous fountains. Most of the leading French sculptors were occupied in making statuary for Versailles. The royal artistCharles Le Brun assigned the subjects, the sculptors the models, they were approved by the King, and full-scale models in plaster were created for display in the park. After a period of months or years, the final works were then cast in bronze or carved of marble.[14]
The major sculptors who decorated the gardens includedFrançois Girardon (1628-1715),Antoine Coysevox (1640-1720) andJean-Baptiste Tuby (1635-1700). Coyseyvox, besides making fountains, produced very fine portrait busts of the King and his chief ministers. He also created sculptures portraying members of the Court or nobility in mythological costume, such as Duchesse of Burgundy represented as the Goddess of the hunt, Diane. Nearly all the major sculptors of the period, including Coysevox, Girardon,Jean-Louis Lemoyne (1665-1755), andEdmé Bouchardon (1698-1762) also made monumental equestrian statues of the King for royal squares in the large cities, includingPlace Vendôme andPlace des Victoires in Paris.
In the later years of the reign of Louis XIV, wars drained the treasury and large sculptural commissions became scarce. The King turned his attention to the decoration of hisChâteau de Marly, built as a quieter retreat from Versailles. Statues there included works by Coysevox and his students, includingNicolas Coustou and, shortly after his reign, a famous pair of horses byGuillaume Coustou (1739–45), whose replicas now decorate the beginning of theChamps-Elysees.
Other sculptors of note during the period includePierre Puget, from Marseille, one finest sculptors of theFrench Baroque style. He had studied and worked in Rome, and his works displayed movement and strong emotion, and used thefigure serpentine, the upward spiral arrangement which suggested movement and lightness, which was characteristic of Italian Baroque sculpture. Seome examples, includingPerseus and Andromeda 1684) andMilo of Crotone (1682) were placed in Gardens of Versailles, and are now in the Louvre.[15]
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The two dominant French sculptors of the 18th century wereJean-Baptiste Pigalle and one of his pupils,Jean-Antoine Houdon. Pigalle failed to get the Prix de Rome, but worked in the studio ofFrançois Lemoyne and went to Italy, where he made his first famous work,Mercury putting on his running shoes. He made numerous naturalistic sculptures, includingLove and Friendship forMadame de Pompadour, and a monument ofLouis XV on horseback for the city ofReims. He broke away from the cold formality of classicism with the Tomb of MarshalMaurice de Saxe, ordered by Louis XV, Pigalle portrayed the Marshal not lying on his tomb, but very much alive and active, surrounded by symbolic figures of characters and animals, including banners, a Dutch lioness and an English leopard, and a figure of Hercules in death, symbolizing the Marshal himself; the sculpture was a scene of theater carved in stone. Pigalle also made very fine portrait statues and busts including a nude statue Voltaire, expressing his modesty and humanity.[14]
Portrait busts became extremely popular.Jean-Antoine Houdon (1714-1785) was a student of Pigalle, and specialized in busts, traveling throughout Europe and to the United States, where he made accurate busts ofGeorge Washington andBenjamin Franklin. He measured the faces of his subjects for accuracy, particularly working on the details of the eyes to assure realism and a vivid expression.Augustin Pajou made five different busts ofMadame Du Barry,[16]
The reign of Louis XV and the patronage ofMadame de Pompadour brought a turn toward neoclassicism. Major royal commissions usually went to the two established official royal sculptors,Jean-Louis Lemoyne (1665-1755(, and his son,Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, who was one of the finest portraitists of the period, and toAugustin Pajou, but Madame Pompadour gave commissions to a new generation of sculptors, includingÉtienne Maurice Falconet andJacques Caffieri. Falconet achieved international renown; he was invited by the Russian Empress,Catherine the Great, to make a monumental statue of Peter the Great on horseback, known asTheBronze Horseman, and toPrussia to make statuary for the gardens ofFrederick the Great atSanssouci Park inPotsdam.
By the late 18th century, the cliente for sculpture had changed. The rising class of bankers, merchants and other wealthy professionals sought sculpture for their homes. Sculptors worked in a variety of mediums, including glazedporcelain from theSevres Manufactory, which could be made in a series, and made smaller-scale bronze pieces in multiple castings. including multiple castings of bronzes. Major sculptors, including Pigalle and Falconet, made series for the Sevres manufactory. The theatricalrococo style was common; The themes of the small works were usually pastoral, romantic and mythological scenes, with cupids, shepherdesses and satyrs, charm and mild sensuality.Claude Michel, also known as Clodion, was a master of this genre, working mostly in terra-cotta. He composed numerous sculptures of intertwined nymphs, satyrs, and bacchantes in terra cotta.[17]
TheFrench Revolution med to the destruction of sculpture on a large scale; the equestrian statues of the Kings and the sculpted facades of Gothic Cathedrals were pulled down or defaced. A few sculptors appeared during the reign of Napoleon, including Chinaud, Chaudet, and Cartellier, but their work was entirely overshadowed by the Italian sculptorAntonio Canova in the same period. Napoleon invited Canova to Paris, where Canova made a semi-nude statue of the Emperor as Mars, but he soon returned to Rome and a more appreciative audience[16]
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The first major figures of French sculpture in the 19th century wereAntoine-Louis Barye (1795-1875) andFrançois Rude (1784-1855), each of whom broke away from the classical models and ideals of the 18th century. Barye was most famous as a portrayer of animals, which he depicted with great realism, often combining in groups with people. His works include sculptural decoration of theJuly Column in thePlace de la Bastille, and four groups on the facade of the Pavillon Denon of theLouvre (1854). Rude's subjects were not nobles but ordinary people, portrayed realistically, not in classical postures. This appeared in is his first important sculpture, of a young Neapolitan fisher-boy (1833), and in his most famous work,The Departure of the Volunteers, (1836), a bas-relief on the base of the newArc de Triomphe, which became a classic example of the movement ofromanticism. His portrait busts of leading personalities, such asJacques-Louis David, showed them not idealized, but showing the summit of emotion.[18]
The sculptorHonoré Daumier (1808-1879) occupied a unique place in 19th century sculpture, with a series of sculptures of portraits of members of the French Parliament that mercilessly caricatured and satirized them.
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827-1865) was the most eminent French sculptor during the reign ofNapoleon III, capturing the spirit of the Second Empire. He studied first with Rude, where he learned precision and naturalism, then, at Rude's suggestion, in the more traditional Academy, where he was a student of Barye, he learned the Renaissance style of Michelangelo and won the Prix de Rome. His statueUgolin, the thinker caused a scandal, which made him famous. With his friend architectCharles Garnier, he made his most famous work of sculptural decoration of the facade of theOpera Garnier in Paris,The Genius of the Dance, full of passion and energy, which shocked more conservative Parisians. He also made a celebrated work ofFlore for the facade of the Louvre, and the statuary for theFontaine de l'Observatoire, to the south of theLuxembourg Gardens.[18]
Jules Dalou (1838-1902) a pupil of Carpeaux, followed him as an important monumental sculptor,Triumph of the Republic, (1889) marking the centenary of the French Revolution, in thePlace de la Nation.
Edgar Degas used sculpture as a tool for his painting. When he died some one hundred fifty terra cotta and wax sculptures of dancers, women at their dressing table, and other subjects were found in his studio. He apparently used these sculptures and models, to study the effects of light. His sculptures, often delicately colored and with fabric skirts, captured grace, movement, and character of the dancers as finely as his paintings.[19]
The most famous French sculptor of the 19th century,Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), wished to be a pupil of Carpeaux, but did not succeed, though he later borrowed one of Carpeaux's subjects,Ugolin, the Thinker. He did become a student of Barye, who was his drawing instructor. His extraordinary abilities of careful observation combined with an ability use light, and to express emotions, very quickly made him famous, though it also quickly brought him criticism. all his major public works were attacked. His most famous works includedThe Thinker,The Burghers of Calais, andBalzac. By the time of the 1900 Paris Exposition, he had so many commands that he served principally as a modeler, employing a large studio of assistants to actually make the statues. He conceived his famous statue,The Thinker, in 1881-1882, and displayed a full-size model in 1904 at the Salon des Beaux-Arts. Twenty-eight castings of the statue were eventually made.[18] Toward the end of his life, he made an even more influential work, a sculptural portrait ofHonoré de Balzac. Rodin was selected for the commission by the writerEmile Zola Rodin experimented with many different versions costumes and poses, beginning in 1891, and finally decided to portray not the physical appearance, but the sprit and thoughts of Balzac, through an exaggeration of his features. The work caused a scandal when it was presented in 1898, and it was rejected by the Salon of the National Society of Fine Arts. A subscription covered the cost of the model, which was put up on Avenue Friedland in 1902. Rodin never saw the final bronze version, which was placed at the intersection of Avenues Raspail and Montparnasse in 1939.[20]
The students of Rodin modified and created new variations, many expressing the sense of movement, speed and change felt at the end of the century. These sculptors included Rodin's student and loverCamille Claudel (1864-1943).
The years from 1900 until 1914 were a period of extraordinary experimentation in sculpture, breaking all previous rules and traditions. Artists from around the world and from the French provinces were drawn to Paris.Antoine Bourdelle (1861-1929) was a student of Rodin, whose work spanned the two centuries and illustrated the transition to the new styles. His stylized bas-relief sculptures in the Theatre des Champs Elysées (1910–12) blended with the newArt Deco architectural style. Important sculptors in the early century includedAristide Maillol (1861-1944), who began as a painter and switched to sculpture, He particularly portrayed, in natural and sensual form, the female nude.Germaine Richier (1902-1959), a student of Bourdelle, made strange hybrids of human and animal forms. Her work expressed nervousness and tension.[21]
François Pompon, who had worked in the studio of Rodin, inherited the role of animal sculptor that Bayre had occupied, though unlike Bayrle he had no interest in realism. He simplified and purified the forms, seeking just the essence of the animal.
Many of the major modernist painters of the early 20th century also experimented with sculpture; these includedHenri Matisse,André Derain,Fernand Léger,Georges Braque, and others. They had no formal training or experience as sculptors, and followed none of the traditional rules, with greater or lesser success.[21]
The use of new and unusual materials was a common feature in much 20th century sculpture.Henri-Georges Adam made very large abstract works of concrete, such as his 22-meter longSignal at the Museum of Fine Arts inLe Havre.[22]
The most celebrated and controversial work in the 20th century was probablyFountain a work entered into the 1917 Exhibition of Independent Artists in New York by French artistMarcel Duchamp. It was an ordinary urinal purchased by DuChamp, and proposed by DuChamp as a work of art. It was reluctantly accepted by the show organizers, since any sculptor who paid the fee could show his work, but it was never put on display, and created an enormous scandal in the art world, as Duchamp intended.
Gaston Lachaise also seemed to mock the traditions of classical sculpture, by his inflated nudes.[23]
César Baldaccini (1921-1998) was a notable figure of French sculpture in the second half of the 20th century. César was at the forefront of the Nouveau Réalisme movement with his radical compressions (compacted automobiles, discarded metal, or rubbish), expansions (polyurethane foam sculptures), and fantastic representations of animals and insects.
Other Prominent sculptor who worked in Paris in the 20th century included the RomanianConstantin Brâncuși, the ItalianAmedeo Modigliani,Jean Arp, the SwissJean Tinguily, andNiki de Saint Phalle,
