Pierre Félix Masseau (17 March 1869, in Lyon – 14 April 1937, in Paris), known professionally as Fix-Masseau. He was a noted

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

sculptor and father of

poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...

artist Pierre Fix-Masseau with whom he is sometimes confused with. Fix-Masseau was born in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. He studied sculpture in

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

, then in

as a student of Charles Dufraine, continuing his studies at the

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

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

under the supervision of Gabriel Jules Thomas. In 1897 he was awarded the

Prix de Paris Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who a ...

which allowed him to travel to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and also to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

(eight months in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

). Fix-Masseau set up his workshop in Paris where he attracted the admiration of

Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

. The latter was unable to convince him to join his studio. The quality of his sculptures was noticed during the salons of the society of fine arts at the end of the 19th century. It made him a recognized and respected artist by his style and his technical mastery in various material bronze, original patinas, wood, glass, and stone ware. His early art was part of the

Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

movement, a precursor of the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

with often feminine themes. An original character of his (a "Mephistophelian" look), being almost reclusive in his art, Fix-Masseau is the very image of the total artist, mystical, focussed and concentrated. The 1890s and the 1900s were his most creative phase. In the 1890s he created some of his most notable art works. In 1894 ''Le Sécret'' a tall female mystical figure, holding up a box, her face receded almost behind it, like her naked body under a half opened coat. The figure is now at the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...

, copies exist in bronze. From the same year is ''L'emprise'', which was first presented as in plaster at the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1894. It shows a young woman as a personification of the human soul appearing to be haunted by five heads personifying passions: lust, anger, greed, attachment, and vanity. Both bronzes became key works of the Symbolism movement. He is also well known for his portraits as busts or masks, in bronze, marble, plaster, and ceramic. They are characterized by lively sculpted surface, close to Rodin's style. Most noticeable is his bust of Beethoven, 1902. The original bronze is housed in the Beethoven House in Bonn. He worked in different styles and media. In his paintings, he experimented successfully with impressionism. Most notably is his "Aprés le dejeuner", depicting a mother and a child sitting in a sun-lit garden. Most of his known paintings, however, are decorative stilllifes of flowers, vases, and hunting prey. He formed part of the French decorative art movement, the

arts decoratifs The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive range of me ...

, creating numerous decorative objects in various positions holding different attributes. These decorative items graced many livings rooms of the well-to-do at the time. Less known is his co-operation with ceramists, such as Alexandre Bigot (1862-1927) and

Edmond Lachenal Edmond Lachenal (3 June 1855 – 10 June 1948) was a French potter. He was a key figure in the French art pottery movement,Sullivan, Elizabeth, "French Art Pottery", In ''Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History'', The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014onl ...

(1855-1848). Fix-Masseau created also vases (pewter), plates (stoneware), clocks (with F. Barbedienne), and chandeliers in the

style, exhibited numerous works at the

Salon des Artistes Francais The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

and the

Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (SNBA; ; ) was the term under which two groups of French artists united, the first for some exhibitions in the early 1860s, the second since 1890 for annual exhibitions. 1862 Established in 1862 by the painter a ...

. At Herqueville, his residence outside Paris in the

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, he befriended Louis Renault, the famous car engineer and pioneering entrepreneur. After the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Fix-Masseau was the first sculptor to create a celebratory statuette of a tank, the Renault F 17, highlighting the age of the machines in war, which was previously only allegorized with male nudes with swords and classicizing depictions of the female Victoria. Since 1908 until 1935, he served as director of the

École Nationale d'Art Décoratif École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

, and was appointed curator at the Musée Adrien Dubouché. In 1926, he was made an officer of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. Between 1904 and 1920 he was a member of the Societé des artistes français. His style changed after WWI to the more austere and reductionist forms of the

art déco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920s to early 1930s, ...

in difference to his earlier works in exuberant Art Nouveau. While still producing high quality works, he lost his avant-garde status. In his later years, he produced a number of masks and busts for

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

and

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...

, as well as numerous medals mostly as commissions for notable Parisian physicians of his time. His works are found among other institutions in the

, in the

Petit Palais The (; ) is an art museum in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Built for the Exposition Universelle (1900), 1900 Exposition Universelle ("universal exhibition"), it now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts (''Musée des beaux-arts ...

in Paris, in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyon and in the

Albertinum The Albertinum () is a modern art museum. The sandstone-clad Renaissance Revival architecture, Renaissance Revival building is located on Brühl's Terrace in the historic center of Dresden, Germany. It is named after King Albert, King of Saxony, A ...

in Dresden.

Selected works

** ''Le Secret'', 1894, 76x 17,5 cm x 18 c, statuette of mahogany, ivory, bronze cast at Siot-Decauville foundry ** ''Masque d' Edmond Lachenal'', 1890, terra cotta, Paris (1982 gifted by the son of Pierre Fix-Masseau) ** ''Réflexion'', 1900, bronze mask ** ''Buste de Jan Van Herwijnen'', 1924, marble ** Restoration and cast of the 36 busts of the ''Célébrités du

Juste millieu Juste or Giusti (surname), Giusti is the name conventionally applied to a family of Italian sculptors. Their real name was Betti, originally from the area of San Martino a Mensola, a church in Florence. Giusto Betti, whose name was afterwards ...

'' by

Honoré Daumier Honoré-Victorin Daumier (; February 26, 1808 – February 10 or 11, 1879) was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker, whose many works offer commentary on the social and political life in France, from the July Revolution, Revolution of 1830 ...

, 1927 ** ''Intérieur'', oil painting, 61.5x50.5 cm * Elsewhere ** ''Buste de

'', 1936,

Jardin du Luxembourg The Jardin du Luxembourg (), known in English as the Luxembourg Garden, colloquially referred to as the Jardin du Sénat (Senate Garden), is located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. The creation of the garden began in 1612 when Mar ...

** ''Buste d' Auguste Delaherche'';

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; ) is a town and Communes of France, commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise Departments of France, département, in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, north of Paris. The Communes of France, commune o ...

, Musée départemental de l'Oise ** ''Buste d'

Anna de Noailles Anna, Comtesse Mathieu de Noailles (Anna Elisabeth Bibesco-Bassaraba de Brancovan; ; 15 November 1876 – 30 April 1933) was a French writer of Romanian, Greek and Bulgarian descent, a poet and a socialist feminist. She was the only female poet ...

'' ** ''Méditation - Monsieur le Penseur'';

, Musée des Beaux-Arts ** ''

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

'', 1902, bronze bust, since October 2001 placed in the courtyard of the Beethoven Haus „Im Mohren“, Bonngasse 18,

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

** ''Renault Tank'' type FT17, before 1922, bronze, 20 cm * Medals ** ''Medal for

Henri Albert Hartmann Henri Albert Hartmann (16 June 1860 – 1 January 1952) was a French surgeon. He wrote numerous papers on a wide variety of subjects, ranging from war injuries to shoulder dislocations to gastrointestinal cancer. Hartmann is best known for Hartma ...

'', professor at the Hopital Bichat 1909 ** ''Medal for Paul Lecène'' ** ''Medal for Henri Bourgeois'' ** ''Medal for

Jules Auclair Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). In the anglosphere, it is also used for females although it is still a predominantly masculine name.One of the few notable examples of a femal ...

'' ** ''Medal for Louis Dupuy-Dutemps'' ** ''Medal for

'' ** ''Medal for

Gallery

Beethfix.jpg,

, Fix-Masseau 1902, Bonn, in the house „Im Mohren“, Bonngasse 18 Fix-Masseau - Jeanne Hatto.jpg, upalt=Jeanne Hatto sculpture Fix-Masseau,

Jeanne Hatto Jeanne Hatto (30 January 1879 – 26 March 1958), born Marguerite Jeanne Frère, was a French operatic soprano. Early life and education Hatto was born in Saint-Amour-Bellevue in Burgundy in 1879, and studied in Lyon and at the Conservatoire d ...

sculpture Fix-Masseau, 1907 Fix-Masseau - Apachina.jpg, upalt=Apachina sculpture Fix-Masseau, Apachina sculpture Fix-Masseau, 1906 Fix-Masseau - Petite fille d'Eve.jpg, upalt=Petite fille d'Eve sculpture Fix-Masseau, Petite fille d'Eve sculpture Fix-Masseau, 1907 Fix Masseau Femme s'essuyant.jpg, upalt=Femme s'essuyant sculpture Fix-Masseau, Femme s'essuyant sculpture Fix-Masseau, 1905 File:Buste d'Armand Rassenfosse by Pierre-Félix Masseau (1).jpg, ''Monument for

Armand Rassenfosse Armand Rassenfosse (6 August 1862 – 28 January 1934) was a largely self-taught Belgian graphic artist, book illustrator and painter. His masterwork was a set of illustrations for Charles Baudelaire's ''Les Fleurs du mal''. Early years Armand R ...

'' (1934),

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

. File:Charles Beaudelaire by Pierre-Félix Masseau, 11 October 2006.jpg, ''Monument for

'' (1936),

jardin du Luxembourg The Jardin du Luxembourg (), known in English as the Luxembourg Garden, colloquially referred to as the Jardin du Sénat (Senate Garden), is located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. The creation of the garden began in 1612 when Mar ...

References

* Emmanuel Bénézit, ''Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs de tous les temps et de tous les pays'', Paris: Librairie Gründ, 1923-4 and 1976. * Laura Gutman, "...An air still more reminiscent of an exhausted Christ than usual", On Olof Sager-Nelson's portrait of the sculptor Fix-Masseau, 1995" in Johan Sjöstrom (ed.), Anywhere out of the world. Olof Sager-Nelson and his contemporaries, Gothenburg: Gothenburg Art Museum, 2015, pp. 73-93. * Stefan Heidemann, A Symbolist estèthe. The Unknown Medallic Work of Pierre Félix Masseau, known as Fix-Masseau (1869-1937). In: Revue Numisatique 180 (2023), pp. 353–402 * Elmar Stolpe, Fix-Masseau, in: Saur Allgemeines Künstler-Lexikon. Band 41. Saur, München,Leipzig 2004, pp.15–16.
European Art Gallery entry

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Masseau, Pierre Felix 1869 births 1937 deaths Art Nouveau sculptors Sculptors from Lyon 20th-century French sculptors 19th-century French sculptors French male sculptors 19th-century French male artists