Terpsichore, Muse Of Dance - Pierre-marie Poisson (1876-1953)

Sculpture with a dark old gold patina
signed on the base "P. Poisson"
Cast by Bisceglia (with the foundry stamp)

France
circa 1927

height 27,5 cm
width 9 cm
depth 8 cm

Biography :
Pierre-Marie Poisson (1876-1953) was a French sculptor and medalist. He studied sculpture at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse from 1893 to 1896, where he trained in plaster works. He completed this teaching in the Barrias studio in Paris. He began to exhibit his works in 1899 at the Society of French Artists and in 1907 obtained a medal of honor at the Salon as well as an allowance to reside at the villa Abd-el-Tif in Algiers where he designed and produced the decorations. He returned there regularly until 1914. After the Great War, Poisson collaborated with the Compagnie des Arts Français with Süe and Mare.

In 1922 the city of Niort commissioned Poisson a war memorial located on the esplanade of the keep. Poisson created the monument to the dead in Le Havre in 1925, considered his masterpiece. He participated in various decorative works : lounge of the Paquebot "Ile-de-France", fountain of the Trocadéro in Paris, sculptures for the facade of Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet...

Pierre-Marie Poisson was the author of a bust of Marianne in a bare and massive style, commissioned in 1932 by Jean Mistler, Under-Secretary of State for Fine Arts, to replace the official bust of Marianne by Jean-Antoine Injalbert. In 1935 Pierre-Marie Poisson created two bas-reliefs for the dining room of the Paquebot "Normandie". He worked until 1951, when he created one of his last works, the Fountain of Healing, located on Boulevard Saint-Michel in Paris.

Pierre-Marie Poisson was named Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honor in 1923, promoted to officer, of the same order in 1937 and promoted to commander, of the same order in 1950.