LOUIS LEYGUE (1905-1992) - COLLECTION FRANCE CRUÈGE DE FORCEVILLE (DAUGHTER OF THE ARTIST'S BIOGRAPHER) Le Phénix, [1953], very probably a one-off, the monumental version created for the Université de Caen. Sculpture. Gilded bronze proof. Signed LEYGUE and stamped SUSSE Fondeur Paris on the base. 80 x 27 x 15cm Provenance: - Atelier Louis Leygue. - France Cruège de Forceville; daughter of Pierre Cruège, designer, interior architect, close friend and author of the catalog raisonné of the sculptor's work. France Cruège de Forceville is the author of numerous publications and curator of exhibitions, a recognized specialist, CNE expert and collector. Public collection and related works: Musées de Vendôme and Atelier Louis Leygue - The plaster cast of our sculpture model, and that of its monumental version, are held in the collections of this institution under inventory numbers 1985.4.289 and 1985.4.290. Exhibitions : - Louis Leygue, sculptures et dessins - Paris, Musée Rodin, 1974. A plaster proof of our sculpture model exhibited at this event (no. 11). - Louis Leygue à la Monnaie de Paris: sculptures, intégrale des médailles, dessins - Paris, Musée de la monnaie, November 1978 to February 1979. Our work, or another bronze proof of our sculpture model, exhibited at this event (no. 167). - Louis Leygue, sculpteur, 1905-1992 - Mont-de-Marsan, Musée Despiau-Wlérick, October 4, 2008 to February 9, 2009. Our work exhibited at this event. - Louis Leygue (1905-1992), sculptures d'atelier - Paris, Galerie France A. de Forceville, 2014. Our work exhibited at this event. Bibliography: - Le Décor d'Aujourd'hui - N° 103 of May 1956. The bronze proof made for the University of Caen reproduced on page 227. - Mobilier et Décoration - N° 4, May 1959. A detail of the bronze proof produced for the University of Caen reproduced on page 15. - Louis Leygue, sculptures et dessins - Catalogue of the 1974 exhibition at the Musée Rodin, Paris, Éditions Musée Rodin, Paris, 1974. A plaster proof of our sculpture model, referenced and reproduced under catalog no. 11, unpaginated. - Yvonne Goldenberg (dir.) - Louis Leygue à la Monnaie de Paris: sculptures, intégrale des médailles, dessins - Catalogue de l'exposition organisée au Musée de la monnaie, Paris (novembre 1978 - février 1979), Éditions du musée, Paris, 1978. Our work, or another bronze proof of our sculpture model, referenced under number 167 in the catalog, reproduced on page 73. - Pierre Cruège - Louis Leygue, sculpteur - Les Éditions de l'Amateur, Paris, 2000. Our sculpture model referenced in the catalog raisonné under numbers 169 and 275 (monumental version); the bronze proof produced for the Université de Caen reproduced on pages 60 and 275. - Christophe Richard - Louis Leygue, sculpteur, 1905-1992 - Catalogue of the exhibition held at the Musée Despiau-Wlérick, Mont-de-Marsan (October 4, 2008 - February 9, 2009), Éditions Musées de Mont-de-Marsan, 2008. Our work reproduced on page 15. - Louis Leygue (1905-1992), sculptures d'atelier - Catalogue of the exhibition organized by Galerie France A. de Forceville, Paris, 2014. Our work reproduced on page 15. Louis Leygue (1905-1992) Gifted with artistic aptitude from an early age, Louis Leygue began his training at the École Germain-Pilon with Robert Wlérick (1882-1944), before moving on to the École Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs and then the Beaux-Arts de Paris, where he frequented the studios of Jules Coutan (1848-1939) and Paul Landowski (1875-1961). His exceptional mastery was recognized in 1931 when, at just 26, he was unanimously awarded the Grand Prix de Rome - a distinction that paved the way for numerous public commissions. However, far from taking the easy way out, Leygue's talent was always at the service of his thoughts and his constantly evolving work. Inspired by the sculptural revival inherited from Rodin and by Cubist theories, he infuses his creations with a subtle dialogue between solids and voids. His figurative subjects, both human and animal, demonstrate this - particularly his equine subjects, which take center stage. In both his drawings and his sculptures, he develops an in-depth approach in which light and movement emerge from a complex process of cutting shapes. This "cubist preoccupation" is also to be found in his monumental work, notably in his Mémorial aux Déportés de l'Ain (1949) and his Monument au prisonnier politique inconnu (1953), in which a profoundly humanist approach is also asserted. Former deportee, Leygue draws