Biography

Emmanuel Villanis was a French sculptor of Italian descent. He was born in Lille, France, and died in Paris. Emmanuel Villanis studied at the Albertina Academy in Turin, where one of his teachers was Odoardo Tabacchi. After his graduation, the sculptor began to exhibit extensively in Italy. In 1885, he settled in Montmartre in Paris. He exhibited his works at the Salon des Artistes de France in Paris from 1886 to 1914. Villanis also participated in the 1889^th World's Fair in Paris and the 1903^th Chicago Exposition.

His works combined the Neoclassical tradition with the then emerging Art Nouveau style, with the plots drawn from mythology, opera and literature. The sculptures by Emmanuel Villanis sculptures were cast at the leading foundries in Paris and were available in several sizes and in different types of metal: bronze, pewter or spelter – an alloy of zinc. Fame came to the artist after he created a number of peculiar female figures - Aida, Judith, Dalila, Lucretia, Cinderella and many others.

The sculptor's works bring together the great heroines of opera, literature, mythology and biblical plots. Made mainly of bronze, sometimes with ivory, the sculptures of Emmanuel Villanis bear the vivid impress of the Art Nouveau style. The use of polychrome patinas further enhances the emotional expression, grace and elegance of the sculptures, making Villanis one of the most distinctive and flamboyant artisans of his time.

Villanis was a very prolific craftsman. His legacy includes some 500 sculptures. Most of them are historical or allegorical female portrait busts. The faces of his characters are easily recognisable. Idealised and poetic, they embody the characteristic Belle Époque type of a woman of mystery, sensual and inaccessible or, as the poet Charles Baudelaire said, "beautiful and sad".

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