Jean Osouf (1898-1996) -

"Bust of a Woman" Bronze proof with nuanced brown patina Signed "J. Osouf" Numbered 1/8 Bears the foundry mark "Cire Perdu Atillio Valsuani" Height with base: 54 cm Architected wooden base of 21.5 cm Biography: Jean Osouf, born June 15, 1898 in Heiltz-le-Maurupt (Marne) and died March 19, 1996 in Nogent sur Marne. Born into a Protestant family, Jean Osouf is a figurative sculptor. He first distinguished himself during the First World War and was decorated with the Croix de guerre for his bravery in fire. When the war was over, Osouf bought a bookstore on the Place de la Sorbonne, where he shut himself up “to read”. It was Aristide Maillol, through Jean Osouf's first wife, Gisèle de Pallarès (with whom he had three children), who convinced him of his gift for sculpture. From then on, Jean Osouf joined the Scandinavian Academy where he was first a student of Adam Fischer and frequented Astrid Noack and Hans-Jacob Meyer before following those of Charles Despiau. At the age of thirty, he decided to devote himself to sculpture and ceased all other activity. After discovering Chartres Cathedral, his work was deeply influenced by medieval tradition. He creates draped figures and calm faces like the busts of Coralie, Jean-Claude, Catalane, Tounette, Mlle Antoinette Bréard, Le Jeune Maquisard, La Jeune Catalane. About these busts, Waldemar George says, “Osouf finds in his busts of young girls the sinuous smile of the Angel of Reims, that Vincian smile before the letter which is one of the emblems of French culture. He was noticed in 1937 during the Universal Exhibition where he was commissioned to create a stone statue 2.50 m high, L'Éveil, placed in front of the Museum of Modern Art. Then, his career took off, especially in Scandinavia, where all the national museums acquired his bronzes. He then meets the one who will become his second and last wife: Solvei Wedin, with whom he will have two other children. On November 11, 1963, he founded the group of nine, with Jean Carton, Paul Cornet, Raymond Corbin, Marcel Damboise, Léon Indenbaum, Léopold Kretz, Raymond Martin, Gunnar Nilsson. Osouf's classical and meditative style, his patient quest for inner light in his many portraits, give his work uniqueness and authenticity.