Marie-Antoinette Demagnez (1869–1925) was a French

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

who worked during the late 19th century and early 20th century. Demagnez was a frequent exhibitor at the annual

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

art exhibition in Paris, and was one of only a few women whose works were juried into the show at that time in history. She is best known for her stone statue called ''Source d’amour'' and her monumental war memorial statue at Saint-Chaptes that memorializes soldiers killed in both the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Demagnez died in Paris in 1925.

Early life and education

Demagnez was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, in 1869. During a time in history when very few women ventured into the male-dominated world of

bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...

, Demagnez’s work was deemed to be of such good quality that she broke the barrier and was allowed to exhibit her work in what was at the time arguably the world’s most important art show—the annual

exhibition. Levey, Michael. (1993) ''Painting and Sculpture in France 1700-1789''. New Haven:

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...

, p. 3. She studied sculpture under the direction of

Antonin Mercié Marius Jean Antonin Mercié (October 30, 1845 in Toulouse – December 12, 1916 in Paris), was a French sculptor, medallist and painter. Biography Mercié entered the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, and studied under Alexandre Falguière and ...

at the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...

in Paris.

Career

Although perhaps best known for her

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Memorial at Saint-Chaptes, she also produced a number of bust sculptures featuring prominent French citizens. Among these is a bronze bust of , cast by the A. A. Hébrard foundry, that she completed in 1911. Her circa 1895 stone sculpture entitled ''Mélancolie'' was described in 1902 by an art critic who said, "The work has delicate and thoroughly feminine sentiment, and is distinctly praiseworthy, albeit the execution shows marks of indecision and inexperience". Demagnez won a bronze medal at the 1900 Exposition Universelle and also participated in the 1904

Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds tota ...

(informally known as the St. Louis World’s Fair) where she presented a stone statue called ''Poetry''. Demagnez completed an important World War I memorial in 1919 that is now located in

Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon (; oc, Lengadòc-Rosselhon ; ca, Llenguadoc-Rosselló) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania. It comprised five departments, and ...

, Gard, Saint-Chaptes, France, in the Town Hall Square. It is made of stone,

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

and iron. It depicts a woman draped and crowned with

laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

raising a palm with a soldier standing guard nearby. Engraved on the

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

are the names of those soldiers from Saint-Chaptes that gave their lives for France in the First World War. The concrete portion was edited by Coignet of Paris. A plaque indicating the dead from this town in the

was added sometime after that war ended in 1945.

Death

Demagnez died in Paris in 1925.

Signature example

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demagnez, Marie-Antoinette Art Nouveau sculptors 19th-century French sculptors 20th-century French sculptors Artists from Paris 1869 births 1925 deaths French women sculptors 19th-century French women artists 20th-century French women artists