Biography

Mathurin Moreau (November 18, 1822, Dijon – February 14, 1912, Paris) was a French sculptor who worked in the Academic style.

Mathurin Moreau was born in 1822 in Dijon into the family of the famous sculptor-craftsman Jean Baptiste Moreau – he was the first teacher of his son. Later the young man studied at Claude Ramet and Augustin-Alexandre Dumont, and entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 1842, Moreau was awarded the Prix De Rome¹⁾, for his sculpture “Diomede enlevant le Palladium” (Diomedes raising the statue of Athena in military armour). This personal scholarship offered the young sculptor an opportunity to study classical antiquity and create his works in Rome for several years.

From 1848, Mathurin Moreau was a regular exhibitor at the Salon d'Art in Paris. After the first Salon, where the works of Mathurin were also exhibited, he was invited to work at the Val d'Osne foundry, for which he not only created models for casting in metal, but also became a co-owner and one of the factory's managers. The Val d'Osne foundry, founded by Jean-Pierre Victor André in 1836, produced street furniture and decorative cast iron and bronze statues. The factory was one of the most famous art foundries in France.

In the 1850s-1860s, i.e. in the early period of his work, the sculptor mainly created models for interior bronzes, mainly female "antique" figures, about which Mathurin Moreau was particularly successful, as the main theme of the sculptor's work was exactly dainty female images with mythological, allegorical or genre rendering. Moreau, who trained in Italy, was well aware of the classical sculptural heritage and fruitfully used its traditions in his works. Among the manufactories producing the sculptor's works was the famous ‘Susse’ foundry, which produced several editions of the artisan’s sculptures: “La Charmeuse” (The Enchantress), “Le jeune fille a la fontaine” (The Girl near the Fountain), “Le Reveil du Printemps” (The Awakening of Spring).

The artisan was widely known as the author of allegorical sculptures and reliefs. His legacy includes sculptures and statues of Greco-Roman mythology, tombstones, fountains, monuments to statesmen and political figures. Moreau is best known for his sculptures, which can be seen today in Paris, Buenos Aires, Geneva and Lisbon. Full-fledged success came to Moreau in 1855, when he created a sculptural composition adorning the Fontaine de la Tournée and won a gold medal at the Universal Exposition in Paris. Today, the composition is installed in Parliament Square in Quebec, Canada. In 1855, Queen Victoria also received a gift of statues “The Seasons” by Mathurin Moreau, which still adorn the garden of Osborne House. In 1877, Moreau was commissioned to create several caryatid figures to decorate the eastern façade of the Paris Opera House. Also among his monumental works is the sculpture “Oceania”, which now stands in front of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

Moreau was an academic sculptor and embodied in his works the basic principles the trend: orientation on the ideal art forms of antiquity, metaphorical style, high technical skill. The sculptor was a member of the association "Society of French Artists" (La Société des artistes français). Mathurin repeatedly received high awards for his work, in particular, he was awarded the title of officer of the Legion of Honour. His brothers, Hippolyte and Auguste, also followed in their father's footsteps and founded one of major art studios in France – the Moreau Brothers Studio (L & F Moreau).

A street in the 19^th arrondissement of Paris, of which he was mayor from 1889 until his death in 1912, is named after the sculptor. Mathurin Moreau died on February 14, 1912 in Paris.

https://lermontovgallery.ru/catalog/skulptura-sborshchitsa-yagod-bronza-matyuren-moro-frantsiya/
https://tenchat.ru/media/1554508-skulptura-voinzaschitnik
https://www.antiqon.com/ru/antikoteka/viewItem/-114/
https://www.marcmaison.com/architectural-antiques-resources/val-dosne-foundry-cast-iron-statue-sculpture
https://yavarda.ru/mathurinmoreau.html#:~:text=%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8E%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%20%D0%9C%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%20(Mathurin%20Moreau)%20(1822%2D1912),%D0%9A%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B0%20%D0%A0%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B5%20%D0%B8%20%D0%9E%D0%B3%D1%8E%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B0%2D%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%B0%20%D0%94%D1%8E%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0
http://www.awdl.ru/evropeiyskaya-skulptura/avrora-1700