Henri Puvrez (1893-1971) Sitting nude with her dog

About this piece

Beautiful bronze of a seated nude with her dog from 1921, by the Belgian artist Henri Puvrez (1893-1971).

Henri Puvrez has beautifully depicted this sitting nude with her dog through stylization and pure lines. There is also something fluid about it, the way the woman and dog are fused with the flared base is also striking.
Henri Puvrez worked as a beginning sculptor in an impressionist style, he increasingly simplified his work towards the abstract. That is also clearly visible here. In addition, the influence of the early Art Deco style is already visible in this sculpture.

The bronze has a beautiful patina and was cast by the J. Petermann company in St. Gilles, Brussels.

The sculpture is extensively signed and dated with 'Henri Puvrez, 1921', and the foundry's hallmarks are also present, 'Fonderie Nat. le des Bronzes, Anc.ne Firme J. Petermann, St. Gilles-Bruxelles'.

Biography:
Henri Puvrez (St-Jans-Molenbeek/Brussels, 1893-Antwerp, 1971) was a Belgian sculptor. He was self-taught, but early in his career he also took lessons from Isidore de Ridder at the Brussels Art Academy for a year.
He had a preference to work directly in the material of his choice (taille directe), such as stone, wood and also ivory. Yet he also worked with clay and bronzes have been cast of his work, such as the sculpture above. His early work was impressionistic, but he increasingly simplified his style, stylizing it to the point of abstraction. Here too, the above sculpture is a good example of this stylization. This sculpture dates from 1921.

In the period 1926-1929, his work was very expressionistic, influenced by Ossip Zadkine and Oscar Jespers.
From 1930 onwards he eventually started working in a more classical, stylized manner.

In 1937 he participates in the World Exhibition in Paris. Later in 1939 he also took part in the Water Exhibition in Liège.

During the Second World War, Henri Puvrez was no longer able to work in stone due to scarcity, so he started sculpting portraits of his friends in clay. He made large busts of Edgard Tytgat, Oscar Jespers, Jean Brusselmans, Constant Permeke, Willem Paerels and Hippolyte Daeye. The bust of Constant Permeke is in the Middelheim Museum in Antwerp, a total of 5 bronze casts have been made of that statue.

Henri Puvrez had a preference and fascination for the human face. In any case, the human was his favourite subject in his work.

In 1946 he succeeded Ernest Wijnants as teacher at the National Higher Institute for Fine Arts in Antwerp.
In 1950 he became a member of the Académie Royale Belgique (Royal Academy of Belgium for Arts). He later also became director of the Académie Royale Belgique, Beaux-Arts category and was also a member of the purchasing committee of the Royal Museum Antwerp.
In 1950 he exhibited at the International Exhibition of Sculpture in Museum Park Middelheim in Antwerp.

In 1968 he received the Grand Prix in the sculpture category for his entire oeuvre. This prize was only awarded once every five years.

Henri Puvrez died in 1971.
His work can be seen in several museums, including Middelheim, Antwerp, the Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp and Brussels.

Literature:
-Roger Avermaete; 'Henri Puvrez', Monografie de l'Arts Belge. De Sikkel, Antwerp, 1950.
- 'Beeldhouwkunst in België vanaf 1830', Engelen-Marx, Uitgeverij Studia, Algemeen Rijksarchief Brussel, 2002.
Part 2, p. 1310-1311.
-A.M. Hammacher 'Enkele bespiegelingen bij de Belgische Kunst in het Rijksmuseum', Elsevier's Geïllustreerd Maandschrift, Jaargang 50, Deel 100, 1940.
p. 147-155.

Condition

Excellent