Victor Edmond Nicolas (2 February 1906 – 16 July 1979) was a French sculptor.

Biography

Victor Nicolas was born in

Brignoles Brignoles (; oc, Brinhòla) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Alongside Draguignan, it is one of two subprefectures in Var. It was the summer residence of the counts of Pro ...

, the son of Nicolas Bertin (1879–1918), professor of mathematics

Mort pour la France ''Mort pour la France'' ( French for "died for France") is a legal expression in France and an honor awarded to people who died during a conflict, usually in service of the country. Definition The term is defined in L.488 to L.492 (bis) of the ...

, and Victorine Tardieu (1878–1965), teacher. He was the grandson of Fortuné Nicolas (1850–1920), judge of the canton court of Tavernes and mayor of Montmeyan from 1886 to 1892. He was married to Josette Behar (1911–2011), sculptor, graduated from the

École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Scienc ...

in Paris, with whom he had a son, Nicolas Vincent (1934–2009). Educated at the college of

Lorgues Lorgues (; oc, Lòrgas) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is situated 13 km south-west from the town of Draguignan. Geography Location Lorgues is situated in the ce ...

and then in high school of

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

, where he received a scholarship from the artists society in

. Graduated from the

École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs The École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ÉnsAD, also known as Arts Decos', École des Arts Décoratifs) is a public grande école of art and design of PSL Research University. The school is located in the Rue d'Ulm in Paris. Profi ...

in Paris. Student of Hector Lemaire, Camille Lefevre and Pierre Séguin. Eight medals won between 1924 and 1926. Graduated from the

in Paris, sculpture section. Student of

Jules Coutan Jules-Félix Coutan (22 September 1848 – 23 February 1939) was a French sculptor and educator. Life As a student at the École des Beaux-Arts, Coutan was awarded the Prix de Rome in 1872; after his return to Paris he executed the f ...

Paul Landowski Paul Maximilien Landowski (1 June 1875 – 31 March 1961) was a French monument sculptor of Polish descent. His best-known work is '' Christ the Redeemer'' in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Biography Landowski was born in Paris, France, of a Polish re ...

and Auguste Carli between 1926 and 1930. Prize Roux of the

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute ...

and prize Chenavard of the

. Elected chairman of the Fine Arts Section from the General Association of Students of Paris in 1928.Jacques Girault, ''Dictionnaire biographique du mouvement ouvrier français'', Centre national de la recherche scientifique, tome 37, Éditions Ouvrières, 1990. Three-time winner at the

Salon des artistes français The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

: honorable mention in 1929, bronze medal in 1933 and silver medal in 1934. Twice scholarship at the prestigious

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

of sculpture in 1930 and in 1933. Has worked in the studios of the sculptors Henri-Edouard Lombard and Naoum Aronson. Set up his studio in Montmeyan, in the former chapel of the Holy Spirit, in 1930. Created many monuments in the departments of

Var Var or VAR may refer to: Places * Var (department), a department of France * Var (river), France * Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran * Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...

and Alpes-Maritimes. Also created various busts and work exhibited several times at the Henri Gaffié gallery of

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

. Elected city councilor of Montmeyan and delegate for Senate election in 1935. Member of the

National Front (French Resistance) The National Front (french: Front national or ''Front national de l'indépendance de la France'') was a World War II French Resistance movement created to unite all of the Resistance Organizations together to fight the Nazi occupation forces and Vic ...

, designated mayor of Montmeyan in 1944, president of the Comité local de libération. Elected deputy mayor of Montmeyan in 1945 and designated deputy judge of the canton court of Tavernes in 1946. Came to painting in 1953; his paintings and drawings are exhibited on several occasions in Artignosc-sur-Verdon and

Draguignan Draguignan (; oc, Draguinhan) is a commune in the Var department in the administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (formerly Provence), southeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department and self-proclaimed "capital of ...

between 1955 and 1957. Appointed professor of drawing 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 centur ...

in 1956 and taught there until the age of retirement in 1976. He died in a road accident in Montmeyan. A posthumous exhibition of his paintings, drawings and sculptures is organised in Montmeyan in August and September 1981. The XXIVth ''Salon des imagiers'' of

is dedicated to him from December 1981 to January 1982.

Work

* Monument dedicated to

Jean Aicard Jean François Victor Aicard (4 February 1848 – 13 May 1921) was a French poet, dramatist, and novelist. Biography He was born in Toulon. His father, Jean Aicard, was a journalist of some distinction, and the son began his career in 1867 wit ...

, jardin Alexandre 1er,

, 1931 (the bronze bust was destroyed by the Germans during the

occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

) * ''Tribute to the Unknown Soldier'', plaster

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 th ...

, Prize Roux of the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

, 1933 * ''Fisherman pulling in his net'', plaster statue, prize Chenavard of the

, 1933 * ''

Jacques Bonhomme Guillaume Cale (sometimes anglicized to William Kale, also known as Guillaume Caillet, popularly known as Jacques Bonhomme ("Jack Goodfellow") or Callet) was a wealthy peasant from the village of Mello near Beauvais, who became leader of the pea ...

'', plaster statue, silver medal of the

, 1934 * Monument dedicated to Raynouard, white marble bust, place Saint-Pierre,

, 1937 * Selected for the creation of a monument dedicated to Général François Mireur,

Escragnolles Escragnolles (; oc, Escranhòla) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Geography The commune is mountainous and includes the gorge of the Siagne. Population See also *Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes de ...

, under the chairmanship of

, 1939 * First prize in the national competition for the erection of an equestrian statue of

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...

, 1943 * ''The Tragedy'' and ''The Dance'', two monumental statues in the open air theater, jardin Albert 1er,

, 1947 * Monument dedicated to Emilie Morel, La Martre, 1947 *

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 th ...

dedicated to the poet Charles Calais,

, 1948 * MonumentMonument dédié aux héros et martyrs du Bessillon sur le site de ''MémorialGenWeb''.
/ref> dedicated to the heroes and martyrs of the Bessillon, Pontevès, 1949 * Fresco of the Saint-Maur school,

, 1963 File:Bust of Jean Aicard by the sculptor Victor Nicolas.jpg, Monument dedicated to

, Toulon (detail of the bronze bust, 1931). File:Fisherman pulling in his net.jpg, ''Fisherman pulling in his net'', prize Chenavard of the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, Paris (plaster statue, 1933). File:Jacques Bonhomme.jpg, ''

'', silver medal of the Salon des artistes français, Paris (plaster statue, 1934). File:François-Juste-Marie Raynouard.jpg, Monument dedicated to Raynouard, Brignoles (detail of the white marble bust, 1937). File:Paul Vaillant Couturier.jpg, Project of monument to

Paul Vaillant-Couturier Paul Vaillant-Couturier (8 January 1892 – 10 October 1937) was a French writer and communist. He participated in the founding of the French Communist Party (PCF) in 1920. Biography Born into a family of actors, Vaillant-Couturier studied law ...

(plaster model, 1938). File:Statue of Jeanne d'Arc by the sculptor Victor Nicolas.jpg, Equestrian statue of

(model for national competition, 1943). File:@Masque de Jeune Fille.jpg, Girl mask (plaster model, 1946). File:Dance in Nice.jpg, Statue '' The danse '', open air theater, jardin Albert 1er, Nice (plaster model, 1947). File:Statue of The tragedy by the sculptor Victor Nicolas.jpg, Statue ''The tragedy'', open air theater, jardin Albert 1er, Nice (monumental statue, 1947). File:The monument of Bessillon by the sculptor Victor Nicolas.jpg, Monument dedicated to the heroes and martyrs of the Bessillon in Pontevès (overview,1949). File:Head of young lady by the sculptor Victor Nicolas.jpg, Head of a young woman (plaster model, 1950). File:Woman sitting.jpg, Woman sitting (plaster model, 1953).

Bibliography

* ''Poèmes'', choix de seize poèmes de Léon Vérane, calligraphiés et accompagnés de seize lithographies d'Eugène Baboulène, Henri Bertrand-Arnoux, Gabriel Cotel, Paul-M. David, Pierre-Henri Dumas, Louis Férec, Albert Janin, Laurent Mattio, Jean-Gérard Mattio, Victor Nicolas, Georges Obled, Olive-Tamari, Georges Palmieri, Henri Pertus, Léon Sabatier, Salvado. Préface de Joseph Paoli. Presse lithographique de l’Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Toulon, 1957. * Jacques Girault, ''Dictionnaire biographique du mouvement ouvrier français'', Centre national de la recherche scientifique, tome 37, Éditions Ouvrières, 1990. * Mireille Pinsseau, ''Les Peintres en Provence et sur la Côte d'Azur pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale''. Éditions La Thune, Marseille, 2004.

Notes and references

External links

''Le Livre d'or du centenaire de Raynouard, Brignoles''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicolas, Victor 1906 births 1979 deaths École des Beaux-Arts alumni People from Var (department) 20th-century French sculptors French male sculptors École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs alumni