Paul Belmondo (sculptor)
Encyclopedia
Paul Belmondo was a French
sculptor. He is the father of the actor Jean-Paul Belmondo
.
into a poor family of Italian
origin (Piedmont
and Sicily
). His early schooling was at Dordor in Algiers. Passionate about art and design, he began carving at the age of 13 years. He studied architecture at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Algiers, but his studies were interrupted by the First World War. He was gassed at the Battle of Saint-Mihiel
, and was then demobilized.
Thanks to a grant from the government of Algeria, he continued his studies in Paris where he became the student, then the friend, of Charles Despiau
and Jean Boucher
. He won the Grand Prix de Rome and Prix Blumenthal
in 1926. He married in Paris in 1930 (3 children were born to the marriage, Alain, Jean-Paul and Muriel). He received the Grand Prix artistique of Algeria in 1932 and then the Grand Prix of the city of Paris in 1936.
During World War II he was a member of Groupe Collaboration, which advocated collaboration with the Nazi authorities. He was vice-president of the arts section (1941-1945). In 1941 he participated in a "study tour" organized by Goebbels in Germany, in which French painters and sculptors visited German cultural sites and art workshops. However, Paul Belmondo was not "worried" after the Liberation since many other well-known artists had also participated.
Before the war, he received many orders from the state, including the Palais de Chaillot with Leo-Ernest Drivier and Marcel Gimond. He became a professor at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris in 1956 and a member of the Institute in 1960.
's Boubouroche. Two bronzes, Jeannette and Apollo, have been located in the Tuileries Palace Gardens
since 1988 (donated by the Belmondo family). When Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
's sculpture Dance was moved from the exterior of Opera Garnier, Belmondo made the replacement for the original location.
A retrospective exhibition of his work, entitled "The sculpture of serenity" was organized in several cities in France from 1997 at the initiative of the Ministry of Culture. The National Museum of Fine Arts in Algiers has a large collection of sculptures by Belmondo.
: 259 sculptures, 444 medals and almost 900 drawings as well as sketchbooks and preparatory work. Emmanuel Bréon, curator of the Musée des Années Trente
(Museum of the 1930s) in Boulogne-Billancourt had proposed that a museum dedicated to Paul Belmondo could be located in the area. The Belmondo collection was temporarily stored in the Musée des Années Trente.
The new museum was built in Buchillot castle, an eighteenth-century folly
. The building, a historic monument, owned by the city, was renovated for a sum of over 2.7 million euros. It was initially expected to open at the end of 2008, but was delayed until 2010, opening to the public on September 14, 2010. The Architectural Review discussed the design, writing that:
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
sculptor. He is the father of the actor Jean-Paul Belmondo
Jean-Paul Belmondo
Jean-Paul Belmondo is a French actor initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s.-Career:Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, west of Paris, Belmondo did not perform well in school, but developed a passion for boxing and football."Did you box professionally very long?" "Not very long...
.
Biography
Belmondo was born in AlgiersAlgiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
into a poor family of Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
origin (Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
and Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
). His early schooling was at Dordor in Algiers. Passionate about art and design, he began carving at the age of 13 years. He studied architecture at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Algiers, but his studies were interrupted by the First World War. He was gassed at the Battle of Saint-Mihiel
Battle of Saint-Mihiel
The Battle of Saint-Mihiel was a World War I battle fought between September 12–15, 1918, involving the American Expeditionary Force and 48,000 French troops under the command of U.S. general John J. Pershing against German positions...
, and was then demobilized.
Thanks to a grant from the government of Algeria, he continued his studies in Paris where he became the student, then the friend, of Charles Despiau
Charles Despiau
Charles Despiau was a French sculptor.Despiau was born at Mont-de-Marsan, Landes and attended first the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs and later the Ecole des Beaux Arts...
and Jean Boucher
Jean Boucher (artist)
Jean Boucher was a French sculptor based in Brittany. He is best known for his public memorial sculptures which communicated his liberal politics and patriotic dedication to France and Brittany.-Early years:Boucher was born in Cesson-Sévigné near Rennes, Brittany...
. He won the Grand Prix de Rome and Prix Blumenthal
Prix Blumenthal
The Prix Blumenthal was a grant or stipend awarded through the philanthropy of Florence Meyer Blumenthal — and the foundation she created, Fondation franco-américaine Florence Blumenthal — to discover young French artists, aid them financially, and in the process draw the United States...
in 1926. He married in Paris in 1930 (3 children were born to the marriage, Alain, Jean-Paul and Muriel). He received the Grand Prix artistique of Algeria in 1932 and then the Grand Prix of the city of Paris in 1936.
During World War II he was a member of Groupe Collaboration, which advocated collaboration with the Nazi authorities. He was vice-president of the arts section (1941-1945). In 1941 he participated in a "study tour" organized by Goebbels in Germany, in which French painters and sculptors visited German cultural sites and art workshops. However, Paul Belmondo was not "worried" after the Liberation since many other well-known artists had also participated.
Before the war, he received many orders from the state, including the Palais de Chaillot with Leo-Ernest Drivier and Marcel Gimond. He became a professor at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris in 1956 and a member of the Institute in 1960.
Death
He died, aged 83, on 1 January 1982 in Paris. He is buried in Montparnasse Cemetery. His workshop was located in old stables, at the Avenue Denfert-Rochereau in Paris.Work
Belmondo's work continues the neoclassical academic style, seeking harmonious forms with simple lines and smooth surfaces. He also made medals and illustrations for art books, including Georges CourtelineGeorges Courteline
Georges Courteline was a French dramatist and novelist.Born Georges Victor Marcel Moinaux, in Tours in the Indre-et-Loire département, his family moved to Paris shortly after his birth...
's Boubouroche. Two bronzes, Jeannette and Apollo, have been located in the Tuileries Palace Gardens
Tuileries Palace
The Tuileries Palace was a royal palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine until 1871, when it was destroyed in the upheaval during the suppression of the Paris Commune...
since 1988 (donated by the Belmondo family). When Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux was a French sculptor and painter.Born in Valenciennes, Nord, son of a mason, his early studies were under François Rude. Carpeaux entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1844 and won the Prix de Rome in 1854, and moving to Rome to find inspiration, he there studied the works of...
's sculpture Dance was moved from the exterior of Opera Garnier, Belmondo made the replacement for the original location.
A retrospective exhibition of his work, entitled "The sculpture of serenity" was organized in several cities in France from 1997 at the initiative of the Ministry of Culture. The National Museum of Fine Arts in Algiers has a large collection of sculptures by Belmondo.
Musée Paul Belmondo
In March 2007 Jean-Paul Belmondo, his brother Alain and his sister Muriel donated all works of their father they owned to the Paris suburb Boulogne-BillancourtBoulogne-Billancourt
Boulogne-Billancourt is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Boulogne-Billancourt is a sub-prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Boulogne-Billancourt....
: 259 sculptures, 444 medals and almost 900 drawings as well as sketchbooks and preparatory work. Emmanuel Bréon, curator of the Musée des Années Trente
Musée des Années Trente
The Musée des Années Trente is a municipal museum specializing in artistic and industrial objects of the 1930s. It is located in the Espace Landowski at 28, Avenue André-Morizet, Boulogne-Billancourt, a western suburb of Paris, France, and open daily except Mondays and holidays. The closest métro...
(Museum of the 1930s) in Boulogne-Billancourt had proposed that a museum dedicated to Paul Belmondo could be located in the area. The Belmondo collection was temporarily stored in the Musée des Années Trente.
The new museum was built in Buchillot castle, an eighteenth-century folly
Folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
. The building, a historic monument, owned by the city, was renovated for a sum of over 2.7 million euros. It was initially expected to open at the end of 2008, but was delayed until 2010, opening to the public on September 14, 2010. The Architectural Review discussed the design, writing that:
The designers describe the first space as 'a setting of the utmost serenity possible' where a ‘smooth, otherworldly luminescence’ is created through a diffusion of natural and hidden artificial lighting. 'Niches, alcoves, raised floors, openings, and contrived backdrops create multiples sight lines, discoveries and frames for the landscape,' said the architects.
From this serene white space you enter the second chamber which, by contrast, is made from timber. This is designed to be 'reminiscent of the backstage of a theatre or an artist's workroom, which is intended to evoke memories and references to other times and other performers.'
Literature
- Paul Belmondo : La sculpture sereine, ouvrage collectif, éditions Somogy, 2001.
- Jean DutourdJean DutourdJean Gwenaël Dutourd was a French novelist. His mother died when he was seven years old. At the age of twenty, he was taken prisoner fifteen days after Germany's invasion of France in World War II...
, Paul Belmondo, éditions Le Chêne, 1984.
External links
- Paul Belmondo at Find-A-Grave