Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 17
Pierre Fix-MasseauThe Secretcirca 1895
circa 1895
About the Item
The Secret
by Pierre-Félix FIX-MASSEAU (1869-1937)
Gilded bronze
Signed on the side "Fix-Masseau"
Cast stamped "Siot-Decauville Paris"
Raised on a rough red marble base
France
circa 1895
height of the bronze 27,5 cm
total height 31,5 cm
Biography :
Pierre-Félix Fix-Masseau, pseudonym of Pierre Félix Masseau (1869-1937) was a French sculptor. As a student at the fine arts School in Lyon, Pierre Félix Masseau received a scholarship to study in the studio of Gabriel-Jules Thomas in Paris, where he remained from 1889 to 1893. Then he became a student at the fine arts School of Paris. In 1879, he received a travel grant allowing him to visit Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, especially Florence and Naples.
Pierre-Félix Fix-Masseau frequented the circles of Symbolist writers in the 1890s. He had an eccentric personality and didn't hesitate to disguise himself in Christ. He lived withdrawn from the world and only frequented a few avant-garde circles such as the Théâtre de l'Oeuvre. Confidential in nature, he only opened his workshop to a few close friends.
Pierre-Félix Fix-Masseau was noticed by Auguste Rodin at the Salon des Artistes Français where he sent his works between 1890 and 1892. He exhibited under the name Félix Masseau then Fix-Masseau. The president of the Chamber of Commerce said of him to the director of the Beaux-Arts in Paris, in May 1894, that he "is a little influenced by our compatriot, the bizarre and powerful Jean-Joseph Carriès, but he really has a strong temperament”. At the beginning of the 1890s, Fix-Masseau was one of the main figures of Symbolist sculpture. From 1893, he exhibited regularly at the Salon of the National Society of Fine Arts in the section of sculpture as in that of art objects. His early research oriented him towards materials such as polychrome wax, marble, bronze, plaster, wood, ivory and ceramics. His workshop was located at Place Denfert-Rochereau in Paris.
In 1895, Fix-Masseau exhibited his work "Emprise" which established his fame as a Symbolist sculptor. This work was selected for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. The same year, he participated in the first Art Nouveau Salon in Paris. The Symbolists saw in him the sculptor of the neurosis and the invisible. Masks, expression heads and female figures are the support for an inner exploration of the soul. Fix-Masseau produced his most significant works in the last decade of the 19th century, notably "Le Secret", exhibited at the 1894 Salon, which was successful and bought by the State.
Fix-Masseau was marked by the ceramic experiments of Jean-Joseph Carriès. He contributed to the rapprochement between ceramics and the decorative arts. He wasn't limited to a single medium but he worked in all fields of decorative arts. He created objects in which fantasy and dreams mingle with the evocation of nature. In the middle of the 1890s, Pierre-Félix Fix-Masseau associated the female figure with floral motifs, certain elements such as the hair where the drapery took on a strange importance, he incorporated the most diverse elements that reinforced the decorative aspect and explored the expressive properties of pewter, ivory, ceramics, researched for special patinas that he declined in inkwells, vases and candlesticks like "The Bad Host of the Night" exhibited at the Salon of the National Society of Fine Arts in 1897.
At the start of the 20th century, Fix-Masseau continued to exhibit at the Salon and the Salon d'Automne. In 1903, he exhibited in Brussels at "La Libre Esthétique". The same year, the deputy Pierre Baudin sent a request to the director of the Beaux-Arts in Paris: “The artist is in full maturity; his talent has reached its final expression. It is the moment, I believe, to admit it to be represented in Luxembourg”.
In 1913, Fix-Masseau became the director of the School of Decorative Arts in Limoges until 1935. He continued his artistic researches, in particular on materials such as sandstone, the tactile qualities of which he explored. His last sculpture was a Monument to Baudelaire that he took nearly ten years to create (Luxembourg garden).
- Creator:Pierre Fix-Masseau (1905 - 1994, French)
- Creation Year:circa 1895
- Dimensions:Height: 12.41 in (31.5 cm)Width: 4.34 in (11 cm)Depth: 3.55 in (9 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:PARIS, FR
- Reference Number:
About the Seller
5.0
Vetted Seller
These experienced sellers undergo a comprehensive evaluation by our team of in-house experts.
Established in 1992
1stDibs seller since 2023
Typical response time: 1 to 2 days
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: PARIS, France
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- Hay PickerBy Aimé-Jules DalouLocated in PARIS, FRThis Peasant resting is a subject that is included in the famous suite commonly called "little workers" by Jules Dalou (1838-1902) Bronze with nuanced dark brown patina cast by Susse Frères - stamped with the founder's seal France created around 1890 and cast after his death height 12,5 cm A similar model reproduced inJules Dalou, le sculpteur de la République, Exhibition held at the Musée du Petit Palais, Paris, 2013, page 288, n°220. Biography : Aimé-Jules Dalou, said Jules Dalou (1838-1902) was a French sculptor, born from Protestants glovers craftsmen who raised in secularism and love of the Republic. Jules Dalou was very young talented for modeling and drawing, which earned him the attention of Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, who made him entered in 1852 in the Little School, the future National School of Decorative Arts in Paris. In 1854, he was admitted to the School of Fine Arts in Paris, where he studied painting in the workshop of Abel de Pujol and sculpture in the workshop of Francisque Duret...Category
Late 19th Century French School Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsBronze
- Hay BalerBy Aimé-Jules DalouLocated in PARIS, FRThis Hay baler is a subject that is included in the famous suite commonly called "little workers" by Jules Dalou (1838-1902) Bronze with dark brown patina c...Category
Late 19th Century French School Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsBronze
- Bearer of wheat sheavesBy Aimé-Jules DalouLocated in PARIS, FRThis bearer of sheave is a subject that is included in the famous suite commonly called "little workers" by Jules Dalou (1838-1902) Bronze with dark brown patina cast by Susse Frère...Category
Late 19th Century French School Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsBronze
- Roman driver on his chariotBy Emmanuel FremietLocated in PARIS, FREquestrian sculpture "Roman driver on his chariot" by Emmanuel Fremiet (1824-1910) Bronze with its original nuanced dark brown patina cast by MORE France circa 1880 height 41,5 cm l...Category
1880s French School Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsBronze
- Woman bringing back grassBy Aimé-Jules DalouLocated in PARIS, FRThis Peasant resting is a subject that is included in the famous suite commonly called "little workers" by Jules Dalou (1838-1902) Bronze with nuanced dark brown patina cast by Suss...Category
Late 19th Century French School Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsBronze
- Self-portraitBy Christophe FratinLocated in PARIS, FRSelf-portrait "Fratin by himself" by Christophe FRATIN (1801-1864) Bronze with nuanced dark brown patina Signed on the base "Fratin" Raised on a wooden base, with an old collector s...Category
1840s French School Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsBronze
You May Also Like
- AngelLocated in Santa Monica, CAEdition of 6.Category
2010s Symbolist Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsBronze
- Victory - Bronze Sculpture After A. Wildt - 1990By Adolfo WildtLocated in Roma, ITSecond Edition of 6 copies plus 3 Artist’s Proofs, realized in 1990 after the famous homonymous sculpture realized by Wildt in 1918/19. Authorized by Wildt's heirs, from the original...Category
1990s Symbolist Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsBronze
- Anita Birkenfeld, Dress, garment sculpture, Bronze sculptureBy Anita BirkenfeldLocated in Tel Aviv, ILAnita Birkenfeld, Bronze sculpture, figurative sculpture, soul, Garment, Israeli art, Israeli artistCategory
2010s Symbolist Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsBronze
- VISAGE ROUGELocated in Marrakech, MACeramic jar covered with engraved stucco. 78x35x35 cm Signature on the sideCategory
2010s Symbolist Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsCopper
- VISAGE BLEULocated in Marrakech, MACeramic jar covered with engraved stucco. 78x35x35 cm Signature on the sideCategory
2010s Symbolist Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsCopper
- VISAGE JAUNELocated in Marrakech, MACeramic jar covered with engraved stucco. 78x35x35 cm Signature on the sideCategory
2010s Symbolist Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsCopper
