Lot 129: Paul Cornet , French 1892-1977 Grande figure debout (standing woman) bronze, dark brown patina conceived: 1958 cast: 1985

signed: P Cornet and inscribed: Susse Fondeur Paris 2/8 bronze, dark brown patina conceived: 1958 cast: 1985

measurements note 172cm., 67¾in.

M. Le Marchant, Cornet, Bruton Gallery, London, 1987

"One is suddenly in the presence of something really young and as seductive as the promises of a beautiful spring."
A.H. Martinie in L'Amour de l'Art, 1930

Paul Cornet chose the figurative tradition for his sculpture after early adventures in Constructivism when he exhibited alongside Picasso, Braque, de Chirico and Delauney. His earliest works produced whilst he was at Paris's School of Decorative Arts display the influence of Auguste Rodin. He had his first one-man show in 1932 at the Gallerie Bernier, Paris and in 1937 he was given the commission for a large bronze figure intended for the square at the Pailais de Chaillot during the Exposition Universelle of that year.

Cornet exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants d'Automne and at the Salon des Tuileries throughout his career. He was awarded the Grand Prix de Sculpture for his entire oeuvre in 1953 and was made an Officer of the Legion d'honneur in 1957.

Cornet modelled his Standing Woman the following year in 1958 at the height of his career. The majority of his subjects were women and children, with the female nude predominating. Standing Woman combines a lyrical naturalism with a casual pose taken directly from the live model, whom Cornet protested he could not work without:

"I can't work away from nature, that is, without a living model. It is a lever. Of course, you have to imitate, but also to simplify. You have to look at nature but also transcend it."

His bronzes were edited by the well-established Parisian Susse Frères foundry, which also cast the works of such 20υth century greats as Bourdelle, Brancusi and Zadkine.