Description
Bronze sculptures by the talented and artistic Moreau family are beautifully rendered examples of the style of late 19th century France.
The very talented artist and sculptor Auguste Moreau was born in 1834 in Paris. He was the son of Jean-Baptiste Moreau, a French sculptor, who also worked as a painter and draughtsman. Auguste Moreau was already taught by his father and was introduced by him in the craftwork of sculpture. We can assume that he continued his education at one of the popular art schools in Paris.
The most popular art school at the lifetime of Moreau was the “École des Beaux-Arts” in Paris. Since 1968 this famous art academy has been called “École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Paris”. It was founded on April 20, 1797 as „École spéciale de peinture, de sculpture et d’architecture“ and was officially acknowledged by the French King Louis XVIII in 1819. The most renowned one of Paris’ art schools is located in the district Saint-Germain-des-Prés and extends over an area of approximately 2 hectare. In the past there was the Augustinian monastery “couvent des Saints-Augustins“ at this location. Even today its little chapel is preserved. The studies at the art academy are always held in studios. That means about 10 to 20 students learn and work together in small classes under supervision of a lecturer.
Auguste Moreau knew probably not a few of the famous artists, who graduated at the “École des Beaux-Arts”. Among them are Henri Matisse (* December 31, 1869 in Le Cateau-Cambrésis; † November 3, 1954 in Cimiez) and the sculptor Georges Gimel (* March 8, 1898 in Domène; † January 21, 1962 in Megève).
During his further artistic training and development Auguste Moreau even then developed a special comprehension of art and his style of filigree figures. His works were first exhibited in 1861; therefore the artist became very early well-known. In the 19th century Paris was several times location of famous and great world’s fairs, at which also artists showed and presented their works.
The first French world’s fair was held in 1855 in Paris. For the first time there was a stage for the contemporary art and modern artistic trends and a special pavilion, the “Palais des Beaux-Arts”, was built for that. Additional world’s fairs took place in 1867, 1878 and 1889. For the reason of the fair in 1889 the famous Eiffel Tower was build. It still exists and became the international symbol of Paris.
Auguste Moreau surely had points of contact with the epoch of Art Deco, but he was more interested in the Art Nouveau. He became an important representative of this artistic trend, that is marked by its floral motifs and ornaments, curved lines and the demand to melt life together with art. Auguste Moreau worked in this style, designing filigree sculptures, figures and busts, that seem very naturally and detailed. The extraordinary artist died in 1917.
極具才華和藝術天分的銅雕家Moreau家族儼然代表了19世紀末法國銅雕藝術的璀璨風華。
這當中才華洋溢的雕塑家Auguste Moreau 於1834年在巴黎出生。他是法國雕塑家Jean-Baptiste Moreau(同時也是畫家及製圖員)的兒子，Moreau的父親同時也是他的啟蒙導師，教導他關於雕塑的基本技巧，而接下來他持續在當時巴黎最有名的藝術學院學習。
Moreau一生中所進修的藝術學院中以巴黎的“École des Beaux-Arts”最具知名度。自1968年起，其名稱改為“École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Paris”,該學院成立於1797年4月20日，初名為École spéciale de peinture, de sculpture et d’architecture“，而且在1819年被法王路易18所正式正名。
Auguste Moreau認是為數不少畢業於該學院的著名藝術家，其中Henri Matisse(1869.12.31-1954.11.3)和雕塑家Georges Gimel(1898.3.8-1962.1.21)非常有名。
在他更進階的的藝術訓練和自我提升階段，他甚至發展出特殊的藝術鑑賞和擁有自我風格的掐絲工藝。他的作品首展於1861年，因此他成名的非常早。在19世紀巴黎有好幾處著名且具有世界級水準的展覽，讓很多藝術家可以在此嶄露頭角。
第一次在法國所辦的世界展覽於1855年在巴黎舉行，也是第一次有當代藝術和摩登藝術潮流的參與，作品展覽於特殊展館“Palais des Beaux-Arts”。另外1867，1878和1899年亦有該展。而特別值得一提的是1889年的展覽是因為艾菲爾鐵塔的建立，而它至今仍是巴黎的國際性指標。
Auguste Moreau的創作和Art deco風格有某種環節的連結，但相較之下，他的作品風格還是更偏近於所謂Art Nouveau，他變成這種新藝術潮流的代表性人物，Art Nouveau的創作中心是花卉形式的裝飾，曲線的線條，和融合藝術與生活的需求。他採用這種創作風格，設計雕塑品、人像和半身像，強調自然的線條和細節，這位將心獨具的藝術家於1917年離世。
備註：此作家之介紹與作品集可參考
Bronze of 19th century – Dictionary of Sculptors
