Tête d'égyptien - Lucien Gibert (1966-1967)

Paris, 1966-1967.
Limstone.
SIGNATURE : GIBERT, bottom left side.
MARKS AND INSCRIPTIONS : "LUCIEN GIBERT 1966-1967" written in gray on the reverse of the sculpture.

The sculptor created this oriental representation in limstone known as Tête d’égyptien (Egyptian Head) in 1966-1967. This work resonates both as a return and a wink at the beginning of his personal work in the 1920s when Europe, and in particular France, was experiencing a growing craze for Egyptology with the discovery of tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922 in the Valley of the Kings by the English archaeologist Howard Carter, but also during this neoclassical period of the first half of the 20th century between 1920 and 1940 which obviously influenced the work of Lucien Gibert during this period but also all French artists.
The sculpture bears the handwritten inscription "LUCIEN GIBERT 1966-1967" in gray.

LUCIEN GIBERT
Born in 1904 in Saint-Étienne, Lucien Gibert was the son of Pierre Victor Gibert, cabinetmaker, and Mélanie Mathevot. He trained at the School of Fine Arts in his hometown then at the École nationale supérieure in Paris under the direction of Jean Boucher (1870-1939). He subsequently became independent and continued to work in his own workshop under the advice of Charles Despiau (1874-1946) who guided him towards a less conventional art.
Very influenced by the work of Aristide Maillol (1861-1944) which he considered his reference, and passionate about the Orient and the human figure, Lucien Gibert initially practiced direct carving of wood, stone and marble. He enjoyed certain success from the beginning of the 1920s and critics recognized the high quality of his work. The journalist and director of the magazine Le Peintre Jean Chabanon wrote : "This artist, who focuses especially on the female model […] thus asserts himself as a sculptor worthy of the antique, heir to Rodin and Bourdelle, to Maillol and Despiau, emulator of Georges Oudot and Volti. His mastery and talent qualify him to add serious beauty to places and medals, in our stadiums and in our museums." 
From 1923, he exhibited at the Salon of French Artists and the Salon of Independents and received the gold medal at the Universal Exhibition of 1937. Winner and scholarship holder of French Equatorial Africa in 1948, he first traveled in Algeria then in black Africa. He brought back sketches and photographs, inspiring him to create numerous sculptures which he exhibited at the Salon des artistes français. He created numerous works now present in French public collections, such as Jeune fille du Sud exhibited at the Fabre museum in Montpellier, or even Tête de femme, L’Accordéoniste and Maternité presented at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris (inv. AMS 296 ; AMS 143 ; AMS 386), the last two of which were acquired directly from the artist himself during the Salon des peintres témoins de leur temps in 1954 and 1956. He was also the author of more than two hundred medals for the Monnaie de Paris, an institution of which he eventually became director.
Lucien Gibert ended his days in Paris in 1988 and was buried in the Père-Lachaise cemetery.

LITERATURE : André Flament, Gibert : sculptures, médailles, dessins, Paris, A. Sirot, 1965 ; Armand Lanoux, Lucien Gibert, Paris, Éditions Vendôme, 1973.

Very good condition.