DESPIAU Charles (1874-1946)

He was first initiated in Decorative Arts and studied at the Beaux-Arts with Barrias as a teacher. He started developping his own style in 1898 and became known in 1904 thanks to his bust 'La petite fille des Landes'. He was noticed by Rodin and became his practitioner from 1907 to 1914. His art skills improved and he was soon considered as one of the greatest bust sculptors of his time, if not the best. His style is uncluttered and simplified in the treatment of his models. He also executed a lot of nude, largely influenced by the archaic Greek statuary and his work would later be considered as the archetype of neo-classicism. He mostly worked on plaster, clay and bronze cast by Valsuani, Thinot, Leblanc-Barbedienne and others.