Flying Eyes | Sculpture Master Georges Jeanclos, Rival to Rodin
Pietà
Pietà is a common theme in Western art history. This theme depicts the scene where the Virgin Mary holds Jesus Christ after he has been taken down from the cross following his death. The Italian word "pietà" roughly translates to "pity" or "compassion," and is used to express the spirit of maternal love that endures immense suffering. One of the titans of the Renaissance, the artistic master Michelangelo, was once commissioned by Cardinal Francesco Tornabuoni to create the sculptural work "Pietà," which has become an artistic classic that is still celebrated to this day.
Contemporary Sculpture
Master Rivaling Rodin
In the 1980s, Georges Jeanclos, a representative sculptor of the era in Europe, also chose this creative theme and completed the work "Pietà." This genius Jewish artist, who experienced World War II, is seen by the European art world today as a sculpture master capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with Rodin. The atrocities of war witnessed by Jeanclos during his childhood while hiding in the Paro Forest to escape Nazi persecution led him to profound contemplation on the fragility of life, which ultimately became an indispensable conceptual element in his artistic style.
In Jeanclos's sculptures, the Virgin Mary exudes a compassionate demeanor. She seems to feel the pain her son is enduring at that moment, a suffering that Jesus bore as a sacrifice for the sins of humanity. The Artist captures a moment of tranquility in the bronze material, where the mother's love and the world's compassion imbue the work with profound human emotions and spirit. It also fully expresses Jeanclos's deep exploration of life through his sculpture.
Jeanclos's "Pietà" has chosen bronze as the material,
adding a unique artistic texture to the theme of Pietà.
As a believer, Jeanclos was influenced by Jewish teachings, which led to a restrained mourning for the deceased and a profound trust in God. Additionally, during his studies in Rome, he was influenced by Etruscan sculpture. In his works, Jeanclos did not depict heart-wrenching agony but instead buried the pain deep within figures that were heavily wrapped and almost completely concealed by drapery. When viewers perceive the Artist's profound philosophical thoughts on life from the surface calmness, they can more deeply feel the true essence of compassion and love.
Georges Jeanclos was born in Paris in 1933 and became an apprentice to a sculptor at the age of thirteen. After studying at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, he won the Prix de Rome in 1959. Over a career spanning more than thirty years, Jeanclos created a series of earthenware and bronze works that gained him great recognition in France. Georges Jeanclos's passionate and powerful figurative sculptures evoke emotions through mastery of materials. These works are painful and full of sorrow, possessing a direct and provocative bitterness. Their faces and postures express an extraordinary human experience of sadness, yet through the skillful use of the medium chosen by the sculptor—thin gray earthenware—a gentle beauty is preserved.
Museum Collections Include:
Museé de la Ville de Paris (Paris Municipal Modern Art Museum) / Fonds National d'Art Contemporain (France National Contemporary Art Fund) / Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon (Lyon Fine Arts Museum) / Musée Cantini (Marseille Cantini Museum) / Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels (Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels) / Johnson Foundation (USA) / Jewish Museum, New York / Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaisme, Paris (Museum of Jewish Art and History, Paris) / Centre Culturel du Roure, Aurillac (Roure Cultural Center, Aurillac) / Musée de Cambrai (Cambrai Museum) / Israel Museum, Jerusalem / Musée des Tissus, Lyon (Museum of Textiles, Lyon) / Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
Public Artworks Include:
·Jean Moulin Monument, Champs-Élysées, Paris
·The Gate of the Ministry of Finance, Bercy, Paris
·The Lintel of the Entrance to Saint-Ayoul Church, Provins
·The Fountain at Stalingrad Square, Paris
·The Reliefs at the Carrières-sur-Seine Institute
·The Decoration of the Entrance Porch of the Toulouse Regional Police Headquarters
·The Monument Commemorating the Tragedy of Puy-de-Dôme
·The Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre Fountain, Viviani Square, Paris
·The Porch of the Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille Cathedral, Lille
Georges Jeanclos's work "Pietà" is currently on display
at LIULU CHINA MUSEUM for the exhibition
"Flying Eyes — Exploring the Legendary
French Château Capazza Gallery's Contemporary Art".
