George Grard (1901–1984) was a Belgian sculptor, known above all for his representations of the female, in the manner of

Pierre Renoir Pierre Renoir (March 21, 1885 – March 11, 1952) was a French stage and film actor. He was the son of the impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir and elder brother of the film director Jean Renoir. He is also noted for being the first ...

and

Aristide Maillol Aristide Joseph Bonaventure Maillol (; December 8, 1861 – September 27, 1944) was a French sculptor, painter, and printmaker.Le Normand-Romain, Antoinette . "Maillol, Aristide". ''Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online''. Oxford University P ...

, modelled in clay or plaster, and cast in bronze. Grard was born in

Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Euromet ...

to a family of modest means and entered the Académie de Tournai in 1915, but his real calling as a sculptor became apparent when he followed a course in sculpture in 1922 with Maurice De Korte (1889–1971). In his native city he met Pierre Caille, and later, in a

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

foundry, Charles Leplae. Having won the Prix Rubens (1930), he left for Paris, where he encountered the sculpture of

Charles Despiau Charles Despiau (November 4, 1874 – October 28, 1946) was a French sculptor. Early life Charles-Albert Despiau was born at Mont-de-Marsan, Landes and attended first the École des Arts Décoratifs and later the École nationale supérieure de ...

and

, which influenced his mature style. In 1931, he set up his studio at

Saint-Idesbald Saint-Idesbald (; nl, Sint-Idesbald) a village at the Belgian West Coast, part of Koksijde, which also includes Oostduinkerke. Its name refers to Saint Idesbald (or Idesbaldus), a 12th-century abbot of the Abbey of Ten Duinen. In 1931, George ...

on the coast, where his house became a rendez-vous of artists including Pierre Caille, the Haesaerts brothers,

Edgard Tytgat Edgard Tytgat (Brussels, 28 April 1879 – Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, 11 January 1957) was a Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages ...

and

Paul Delvaux Paul Delvaux (; 23 September 1897 – 20 July 1994) was a Belgian painter noted for his dream-like scenes of women, classical architecture, trains and train stations, and skeletons, often in combination. He is often considered a surrealist, alt ...

. In 1935, he was commissioned to create a sculpture for the rose garden at the Exposition universelle et internationale. Two years later

Henry Van de Velde Henry Clemens van de Velde (; 3 April 1863 – 15 October 1957) was a Belgian painter, architect, interior designer, and art theorist. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar, he is considered one of the founders of Art Nouveau in Belgium.'' ...

asked him for a work for the Belgian pavilion of the Exposition internationale, 1937. In the nineteen-fifties Grard, still in full possession of his mature powers, received repeated public commissions: the ''Seated Figure'' at the Banque Nationale, Brussels (1950), ''La Mer'', fronting the post office at

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

(1955, ''illustration''), the ''Naïade'' at Tournai (1950), and ''Earth'' and ''Water'', near the Albert Bridge at Liège (1964). George Grard died in Saint-Idesbald in 1984.

Koksijde

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Koksijde Koksijde (; french: Coxyde ; vls, Koksyde) is a town and a municipality in Belgium. It is located on the North Sea coast in the southwest of the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises apart from Koksijde, the villages of O ...

PM 136365 B Koksijde.jpg PM 136367 B Koksijde.jpg PM 136359 B Koksijde.jpg PM 136362 B Koksijde.jpg

External links

Yves Randaxhe, 'Le Musée en Plein Air du Sart-Tilman': George Grard

De Muelenaere & Lefevere Art Gallery
1901 births 1984 deaths Artists from Tournai 20th-century Belgian sculptors {{Belgium-sculptor-stub