Louis Dejean (1872-1953) - Lot 162

Louis Dejean (1872-1953) Female torso Plaster Signed "L Dejean" on left of base H. 37.5 cm Accidents Related works -Louis Dejean, Female torso, 1923, bronze, H. 82 cm, Saint-Quentin, musée des beaux-arts Antoine Lécuyer, inv. L 109 ; -Louis Dejean, Torse féminin, 1926, marble, H. 84 cm, Mont-de-Marsan, musée de la ville, inv. MM 84 6 1 ; -Louis Dejean, Female torso, before 1930, bronze, H. 160 cm, Paris, Centre Pompidou, inv. AM 509 S. This working plaster model of a woman's torso is part of Louis Dejean's extensive corpus of studies of female nudes and bathers. Our torso embodies the stylistic research on the female body common to a number of interwar sculptors, including Ernest Drivier and Alfred Janniot. After making a name for himself with his elegant statuettes of Parisian women in the early 20th century, Louis Dejean, a self-taught sculptor and practitioner of Carriès and Rodin, turned to more academic subjects. Following the ideas of the "Bande à Schnegg", a group of artists close to the Meudon master at the beginning of the 20th century, he strove for purity of form and volume, drawing inspiration from Greco-Roman antique art. Our studio plaster shows a horizontal break above the hips, probably deliberate, as the artist was no doubt seeking to accentuate the wiggle and sinuosity of the figure. In the same vein, the chest is reworked with plaster additions, testifying to the creative process.