Jean Carton (1912-1988) - Lot 78

Jean Carton (1912-1988) Simone à la toilette, 1979 Black patina bronze proof, no. 8/10 Émile Godard lost-wax casting Foundry stamp on edge of base at rear Signed on the terrace: "J. Carton". 56 x 24 x 24 cm Related literature: - "23 hommages à Jean Carton (1912-1988)", Connaissance des Hommes, n°129, March-April 1989, p.17-21, repr. - Carton, Sculpture, Sanguines, Estampes, Paris, Galerie Art France, October-November 1980, repr. - Carton, Quimper, Musée des Beaux-Arts, October 15-December 13 1982, no. 51. - Jacques Trémolet, "Jean Carton est mort", Permanences, n°257, December 1988, pp. 4-7, repr. - Roger Passeron (Préf.), Jean Carton, Sculptures-Dessins-Gravures, Chambéry, musée d'art et d'histoire ; Mont-de-Marsan, musée Despiau-Wlérick, July-December 1989, repr. - Hommage à Jean Carton- École de Moret, Biennale de Fontainebleau, Théâtre de Fontainebleau, June 13-July 3, 1994, repr. Exhibitions : - Carton, Sculpture, Sanguines, Estampes, Paris, Galerie ArtFrance, October-November 1980. Model shown: fonte Godard- h.57cm. - Hommage à Jean Carton- École de Moret, Biennale de Fontainebleau, Théâtre de Fontainebleau, June 13-July 3, 1994. Model exhibited: 3/8 Coubertin cast- h. 68cm (n°7). - Jean Carton, Sculptures-Dessins-Gravures, Chambéry, musée d'art et d'histoire ; Mont-de-Marsan, musée Despiau-Wlérick, July-December 1989. Models on display: 1/8 Godard cast- 29.5 cm (n°32) and 3/8 Coubertin cast- h. 68cm (n°35). A student of Charles Malfray and Robert Wlérick at the École des Arts Appliqués in Paris, Carton joined the studio of sculptor Marcel Gimond at the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris on their advice. The end of the Second World War marked the beginning of Carton's intense production and recognition. He exhibited in France and abroad, in Lebanon, the United States and Japan. Jean Carton won several awards: in 1946, the Prix Blumenthal, awarded by Germaine Richier, Robert Couturier and Marcel Gimond; in 1949, the Prix-bourse de la villa Abd-el-Tif in Algiers; in 1958, the Silver Medal at the Brussels Universal Exhibition. In 1964, he was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts de Paris. Jean Carton's greatest concern is to work from life. He trusts only his eye, because, he says, "working without a model inevitably leads you back to forms already made by others. From then on, he felt the impetuous need to "give life to forms" (Passeron, 1989) and centered his work around the human figure, mainly female. To capture and reveal this hidden life, he chose simple postures, sculpting ordinary gestures: a woman stretching (La Petite Marèze, 1969), holding her breast (La Jeunesse, 1948), a man walking (Patrice en mouvement, 1970). La femme penchée se tenant le pied, also known as Simone à la toilette, was created in 1979. Between 1965 and 1980, Jean Carton created most of his major sculptures: La Pensée (1965), L'Adolescent (1971), L'Athlète vaincu (1975) and L'Offrande (1979). During these years, he shifted his focus from the identity of the model to the inner or outer movements that animate the being in general. Carton produced Simone à la toilette in three sizes: 29.5 cm (Émile Godard fonts), 57 cm (Émile Godard fonts) and 68 cm (Coubertin fonts).