Artist name Puech, Denys
Other name: Puech, Denys Pierre
Sex: m
Artist occupation: sculptor; medallist
Geographical data: France
State: France
Date of birth: 1854.12.16
Place of birth: Gavernac (Aveyron)
Date of death: 1942
Place of death: Paris
Denys Puech was reared in Aveyronnaise of very
modest means. His father had a small farm close
to Rodez, on the commune of Bozouls. His mother,
more educated, gave to her four sons the desire
to study and the drive for success. As a child,
he carved wood statuettes while shepherding sheep.
At the age of 16, he was made an apprentice as
a craftsman to the mason Rodez. Two years later,
in Paris he perfected his training as a sculptor.
He worked several workshops, while attending
evening courses at various art schools.
In 1881, he attained his first success by obtaining
a silver medal at the distinguished Prix de Rome
and again in the following year. In 1884, he
won the first prize, which was very coveted by
artists because it made it possible for the artist
to begin an official career by obtaining government
financing.
He later studied at the Médicis Villa,
where he discovered the lofty ideals of Italian
art and carried out several sculptures exhibiting
a great control of execution. His allegory of
the Seine, in particular, gained great respect
from the jury at the Academy. This work, bought
by the French State, is placed at the Museum
of Luxembourg.
In 1905, he is elected a member at the Institute.
He remained very attached and dedicated to his
native area. He sought effective support in his
political circles for a project at the museum
of Rodez. This project quickly took off and the
museum was inaugurated in 1910. From 1921 to
1933, the sculptor was the director of the Médicis
Villa.
Bibliography:
H. Jaudon: Denis Puech (Rodez, 1908)
D. Cady Eaton: A Handbook of Modern French Sculpture
(NY, 1913), pp. 271–2
L. Taft: Modern Tendencies in Sculpture (Chicago,
1923), pp. 31–2
De Carpeaux à Matisse: La Sculpture française
de 1850 à 1914 dans les musées
et les collections publiques du nord de la France
(exhibition catalog, Calais, Musée B.-A.,
1982), pp. 278–80
Bellier de la Chavignerie, E. & L. Auvray.
Dictionnaire général des artistes
de l'école française (Bellier-Auvray)
(1887) 5 v.
Lami, S. Dictionnaire des sculpteurs de l'école
française (1921) 8 v.
Bénézit, E. Dictionnaire des Peintres,
Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs, et Graveurs, Gründ,
1999.
Thieme-Becker, Allgemeines Lexikon Der Bildenden
Künstler Von Der Antike Bis Zur Gegenwart,
Seemann, Leipzig 1999.
Kjellberg, P. Bronzes of the 19th Century, A
Dictionary of Sculptors, 1992
MacKay, J. A dictionary of Western Sculptors
in Bronze, 1976
Berman, H. Bronzes- Sculptors and Founders, 1987
Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication;
La Sculpture Française au XIXe Siecle,
1986.
Forrest, M., Art Bronzes, 1988
Busse, J. Internationales Handbuch aller Maler
und Bildhauer des 19. Jahrhunderts (Busse-Verzeichnis)
(1977)
Havlice, P. Index to artistic biography (1974)
2 v. First supplement (1981)
