Jean LETOURNEUR (1954) - Lot 177

Jean LETOURNEUR (1954) Bust of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 1994-2000 Studio plaster Signed (on back) : JEAN LETOURNEUR 53 x 53 x 28 cm Jean Letourneur had long been familiar with Saint-Exupéry's work and admired his philosophy, when in 1993 the Association des amis de l'écrivain asked him to make a medal depicting him to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his death. This first project led the sculptor to create his own bust portrait of the writer, which in turn became a statue. For the bust presented here, Jean Letourneur, on the advice of Nelly de Voguë and Jean Israël, who followed its genesis, chose to depict the writer's face without the marks left by the hardships of war. In 2000, a bronze copy of this bust was placed in the VIP lounge at Lyon-Saint-Exupéry airport, on a stele of the same material, also created by Jean Letourneur. Exhibitions : - 1994, Ouarzazate, Kasbah Taourirt. - 2003, Le Bourget, Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace: Saint-Ex in Morocco. - 2019, Rabat, Bibliothèque Nationale du Royaume du Maroc: La Ligne (celebration of the centenary of l'Aéropostale). Bibliography: - Jean-Pierre Péroncel-Hugoz, "Saint-Ex et le frère bédouin", Le Monde, October 29, 1994, p.VII-VIII. - Philippe Piguet, "Le Maroc entre culture et mécénat", L'Œil, n°481 (July-August 1996), p. 6, repr. - Alix Saint-Martin, "Parts d'éternité à Fontenay", 92 express, n°87 (December 97-January 98), p. 71, repr. - 2018 CHANETZ, fig. 5, p. 51. - 2019 CHANETZ, unpaginated, repr. (bronze bust). - 2020 SCHEPS MAUREL, p.100. - 2020 LETOURNEUR, fig. 7 p. 4 (full-length sculpture of Saint-Exupéry), figs. 17-18, p. 10 (medal and stele).