René Quillivic (1879–1969) was a French sculptor whose art expressed

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

cultural identity. His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...

Life

René Quillivic was born on 13 May 1879 in the town of Plouhinec, Finistère, in a small house bordering one side of what is currently known as the "Place Jean Cosquer". He came from a family of fishermen, but was apprenticed to a carpenter. He decided to pursue an artistic career as a sculptor and was accepted by the

École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts 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 The Seine ( , ) is a river in nor ...

in Paris, where he joined the workshop of Antonin Mercier. He exhibited at the

Salon des Indépendants Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name i ...

and the

Salon des Artistes Français 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 ...

. In 1907, he won the Gold Medal at the Salon des Beaux-Arts for ' (Group of Breton Pipers). The following year, another of his works, ''La Brodeuse de Pont-l'Abbé'' (Pont-l'Abbé Embroiderer), gave him access to funds for travels to North Africa and Italy. He pursued his career creating public memorial sculptures in his home department of

Finistère Finistère (, ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest, France, Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.Seiz Breur.René Quillivic
/ref> He died in Paris on April 8, 1969. His son, of the same name, became a well-known artist and printmaker.

Works

After

World War I 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 ...

he had the opportunity to pursue his art in the form of war memorials, in which he typically emphasised

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

ideals. Most of these were located in Finistère (

Carhaix Carhaix-Plouguer (; ), commonly known as just Carhaix (), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, region of Brittany, France. The commune was created in 1957 by the merger of the former communes Carhaix and Plouguer.

, Coray, Fouesnant,

Loudéac Loudéac (; ; Gallo: ''Loudia'') is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department, Brittany, northwestern France. Geography Climate Loudéac has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfb''). The average annual temperature in Lou ...

, Plouhinec,

Plouyé Plouyé (; "Parish of Ia") is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Plouyé are called in French ''Plouyéziens''. See also *Communes of the Finistère department The foll ...

, Plozévet,

Pont-Croix Pont-Croix (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. The town lies about from Audierne on the road to Douarnenez and is connected to Plouhinec by a small, scenic road that passes through the Goyen ...

Pont-l'Abbé Pont-l'Abbé (; , "Abbot's bridge") is a Communes of France, commune in the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in north-western France. The self-styled capital of Pays Bigouden (roughly th ...

, and Saint-Pol-de-Leon). The best known of his war memorials, and one of the four Quillivic pieces in his birthplace of Plouhinec, is a statue of a woman wearing a mourning cape, hands folded in prayer. Carved in granite, she accompanies a

stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

listing the victims of the war; his mother was the model for the statue. A bronze bust of Quillivic's mother in a traditional

headdress Headgear, headwear, or headdress is any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, decoration, or fo ...

is also exhibited nearby in his family home. Also in his home town are a sculpture of Saint Jacques, and an uncompleted

Calvary Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified. Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...

, or carved cross. His inspiration arose mainly from Breton culture. This use of local models familiar to the people became a hallmark of his work. Thus, in Bannalec, the local people could recognize in the monument the likeness of the sister of the locally famous aviator Jean Bourhis, who had been killed in the war. Qullivic also included the image of Bourhis's airplane on the principal relief. According to Sylvie Blottière-Derrien "Rene Quillivic was known to be the promoter of a typically Breton commemorative sculpture". His ''La Bigoudène'' at Pors-Poulhan marks the border between the areas of

Pays Bigouden Bigouden (Breton language, Breton: ''Bro-Vigoudenn''; French language, French: ''Pays Bigouden''), historically known as Cap Caval, is, along the Bay of Audierne, the most south-western area of ''Bro Kernev'' in Brittany, south-west of Quimper, Fi ...

and

Cap Sizun The Cap Sizun (; ) is a headland forming the western extremity of the Cornouaille, in the French département of Finistère in Brittany, corresponding to the former canton of Pont-Croix. The best known sites in this region are the pointe du R ...

. His sculpted pillar dedicated to deceased Breton sailors stands at

Pointe Saint-Mathieu The Pointe Saint-Mathieu ( French) or St Matthew Point () is a headland located in the commune of Plougonvelin in Finistere Department in western Brittany, France. Flanked by high cliffs, it was the sight of major Anglo-French naval battles in 1 ...

. Several of his works are preserved in

Quimper Quimper (, ; ; or ) is a Communes of France, commune and Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the ...

art gallery, including his sculpture ''L'appel de la mer'' (The Appeal to the Sea), which was initially intended for the Breton pavilion at the 1939 ''Exposition des arts décoratifs'' in Paris. The semi naked female figure was considered too provocative and was replaced by a Madonna and Child by Jules-Charles Le Bozec.Rotté, J.R., ''Ar Seiz Breur'', Breizh Hor Bro, 1987, p. 124 The gallery also holds other statues depicting the artist's mother, portrait heads of children and ''La Brodeuse de Pont-l'Abbé'', the large bronze of a young Breton embroiderer. Quillivic’s media vary. His sculptures are usually Breton granite, Kersantite, or bronze. He also made wood-engravings, and is known for his

seascapes ''Seascapes'' is a weekly 30-minute Irish radio programme covering maritime matters broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 on Fridays at 22:30 and formerly presented by the award-winning presenter Tom MacSweeney. The programme deals with all subjects of ma ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quillivic, Rene French modern sculptors People from Finistère 1879 births 1969 deaths 20th-century French sculptors French male sculptors Art competitors at the 1928 Summer Olympics