BY DENYS-PIERRE PUECH, PARIS, LATE 19TH CENTURY

In 1873, as a scholarship-holder from the département of Aveyron, a very fortunate and promising Denys Pierre Puech (1854-1942) entered L'Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, under the training of Jouffroy, Falguière and Chapu. The artist first debuted in the 1875 Salon and, as a consistent exhibitor throughout his illustrious career, was awarded on numerous occasions with a second prize (in 1881 and 1883) and finally the Prix de Rome in 1884 for his Mézence blessé. With his sudden success in the Salons, Puech quickly accumulated commissions from the French State for various public spaces, including Jardin du Luxembourg and Carrefour de l'Observatoire. At the Exposition Universelle in 1900, he also won the much-coveted Grand Prix, which further extended both his enormous popularity and his official appointments within France's artistic circles. He was appointed as a committee member for the Salon des Artistes Français, and received both the title of chevalier (1892) and commandeur (1908) of the Légion d'Honneur.

Though primarily known for his commemorative statuary, on occasion Puech integrated allegory into his official commissions, as seen at the Musée du Luxembourg where his monumental homage entitled La Seine now resides. In the present example, alternatively entitled Brise de Mai, obviously deeply inspired by Alfred de Musset's Nuit de Mai (1835), Puech tore the image from the pages of the poet's chef d'oeuvre and brings to life the sensuous dialogue between the poet and his muse. The artist first executed a plaster sketch of his forme voileé in 1885 and later produced subsequent models in terracotta and marble. Another marble example, executed in 1903, now resides in the Musée des Beaux-Arts.