André BIZETTE-LINDET (1906-1998) - Lot 126

André BIZETTE-LINDET (1906-1998) The City of Paris, 1938. Round-body sculpture in bronze with greenish-brown patina. Signed on the base at right. Cast by "Susse Frères Éditeurs, Paris" in a single copy. Height : 52 cm. Width : 62 cm. Depth : 21 cm. Provenance: French private collection. Given by the artist to his architect friend Pierre Savin, then in the family by descent. Bibliography: - "Bizette-Lindet. Dessins de voyages, sculptures, médailles", exhibition catalog, Musée national de la Marine, Paris, October 18-December 31, 1984. - Maillol. La passion du bronze", exhibition catalog, Fondation Dina Vierny-Musée Maillol, Paris, December 13, 1995-March 30, 1996, p. 41. Although appointed official painter to the French Navy in 1947, André Bizette-Lindet is best known today as the creator of monumental sculptures in a wide variety of techniques. In fact, at the request of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, he decorated the bronze doors of the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, inaugurated at the 1937 Universal Exhibition, and awarded a "diploma of honor". Bizette-Lindet attended school in Le Mans, where he befriended future architect Pierre Savin (1909-1998). After training at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-arts and the École des Arts décoratifs in Paris, he distinguished himself in 1929 by winning an "honorable mention" at the Salon des Artistes Français. In 1930, Bizette-Lindet was awarded the Grand Prix de Rome for his sculpture "Le lanceur de javelot", before attending the Villa Médicis in Rome from 1931 to 1935. Author of a monumental allegory of "La France" cast by Susse Frères in 1937, he excelled in the first part of his career at translating classically inspired geometric figurative art into sculpture. Under the direction of architect Eugène-Élie Beaudouin (1898-1983), Bizette-Lindet undertook the decoration of the Salon rond at the French Embassy in Ottawa in 1938. The same year, he created our sculpture, cast in bronze by Susse Frères under the title "La Ville de Paris". More precisely, it is a draped allegory of the French capital, represented in the guise of Saint Genevieve, its tutelary figure. Reclining on a rock, the patron saint of Paris holds in her right hand an equipped nave, the navigation symbol of the city's famous coat of arms, accompanied by the Latin motto: "Fluctuat nec mergitur". Probably commissioned, "La Ville de Paris" was finally given to Pierre Savin in the 1940s as a gift for his wife, Geneviève. The composition of our sculpture bears a strong resemblance to a bronze project for "L'Air", cast in 1938 by Alexis Rudier under the direction of Aristide Maillol (1861-1944). In the second half of his career, Bizette-Lindet took part in the "Mur vivant" research group, studying the relationship between contemporary architecture and more abstract sculpture. In parallel with his ongoing collaboration with the Monnaie de Paris and the Manufacture de Sèvres, in the 1950s-1960s the artist sculpted numerous public monuments for the city of Le Mans. These included the municipal school buildings designed by Pierre Savin. We would like to thank Mr. Hubert Lacroix, director of the Susse foundry, for his kind assistance.