Henri Bouchard (1875-1960) - “grape Harvester At La Layotte”

Bronze proof with dark brown patina on a green background Lost wax by the Attilio Valsuani Foundry Bears the founder's stamp: "A. Valsuani - Cire Perdue" on the plinth at the back Signed in wax "Bouchard" on the terrace at the back Model created in 1943 Dimensions: Height: 46 cm Length: 19.5 cm - Depth: 12 cm The layotte is a work headdress, very enveloping and covering the neck, used by Burgundy winegrowers to protect themselves from the sun Biography: Louis Henri BOUCHARD (1875-1960) Born in Dijon to a carpenter father and a seamstress mother. After being an apprentice to an ornamental decorator and having taken courses at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, he entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1895 where he was a student of Louis Ernest Barrias (1841-1905). In 1899 he won the Second Prix de Rome, then in 1901, the First Grand Prix with his bas-relief "Oedipus driven from Thebes leaves the city guided by Antigone". From 1902 to 1906, he was a resident at the Villa Medici in Rome and sculpted the life of peasants and ordinary people at work. He was a professor at the Académie Julian from 1912 to 1927, then at the Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1928. He became the President of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1936 then, he went to Germany at the invitation of the Nazi regime. Henri Bouchard's works cover all genres of sculpture: sculpture in the round and bas-relief, medals, small formats, statuettes and monumental reliefs. His talent, inspired by the Romanesque tradition, has won the esteem of historians and art critics.