ADOLPHE WANSART (1873-1954) L'Espagnol, also known as Buste du Professeur Ricardo Aznar Casanova, the model created in [1925], most probably a single bronze proof, exhibited in Berlin in 1933 and in Venice in 1940. Sculpted bust. Bronze proof with brown patina. Early edition cast. Signed A. WANSART on the left side of the terrace, marked Fonderie BATARDY Bruxelles on the back of the terrace. Height: 95cm - Length: 55cm - Depth: 35cm Provenance: - Art moderne - Sale Mes Binoche et Godeau, Hôtel Drouot, December 6, 1989. Our work presented under catalog number 49bis. - Collection K., Paris. Acquired at the previous sale. Public collections and related works: - Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels - Another proof of our model, in granite concrete, is kept in the collections of this institution under inventory number 4641. - Musée de peinture et de sculpture, Grenoble - Another proof of our model, smaller and in granite concrete, is kept in the collections of this institution under inventory number MG 2533, following a gift from the artist in 1928. Related exhibitions and works: - Hundert Jahre Belgischer Kunst - Preussischer Akademie der Künste, Berlin, January-February 1933. Our work, or another bronze print, exhibited at this event. - La Biennale di Venezia - XXIIe Esposizione internazionale d'arte - Venice, May-October 1940. Our work, or another bronze proof, exhibited at this event. Bibliography and related works: - Hundert Jahre Belgischer Kunst - Catalogue of the exhibition held at the Preussischer Akademie der Künste, Berlin (January - February 1933), published by the Preussischer Akademie der Künste, Berlin, 1933. Our work, or another bronze print, referenced under catalog no. 330, quoted on page 54. - Catalogo XXII Esposizione internazionale d'arte - Catalogue of the 22nd Venice Biennale, (May to October 1940) Our work, or another bronze print, referenced under catalog number 90, cited on page 235. - Jacques van Lennep - Catalogue de la sculpture (artistes nés entre 1750 et 1882): Justifications, corrections, additional information in Bulletin des Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique - 41ème à 42ème année: 1992-1993/1-4 - Éditions des Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique/Drukkerij Groeninghe, Bruxelles/Kortrijk, 1997. Our work quoted on page 237. A talented artist, Adolphe Wansart was undoubtedly one of the finest sculptors of his time. His considerable body of work, unjustly overlooked, testifies to the great modernity and constancy that define his entire body of work, dominated mainly by public statuary and sculpted portraits1. Initially drawn to painting, the Verviers artist began his apprenticeship at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Liège, before moving on to Brussels, where he was a pupil of Jean Portaels (1818-1895). Inspired by the research of the Impressionists and frequenting the artists of Brabant Fauvism, his early works were unsurprisingly characterized by their simple lines and use of vibrant, vivid colors. In 1900, Wansart inexplicably decided to devote himself exclusively to sculpture, and from these pictorial explorations retained a certain sense of simplicity and synthesis which, coupled with his serious work and deep understanding of the role of sculpture, made him a unique artist in the history of modern Belgian sculpture. Learning sculpture from Charles van der Stappen (1843-1910) at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Adolphe Wansart quickly realized that this art form, rightly reputed to be thankless, would require rigor and patience, and would allow little spontaneity. Attracted by the monumental, he developed a certain understanding of the outdoors, imagining his works as dialogues with space and light. Working without a model, except for his portraits, his method undoubtedly explains the synthetic, constructed character of his sculptures, as if "[...] Wansart had never recreated his subject, but had subjected it to a recasting directed by his conscience as a pure artist "2. Wansart's sculptures were built in highly architectural volumes, with no superfluous detailing, in the manner of direct carving - a feature evident in the fact that most of his works were cast in bronze or granite concrete, rather than carved in stone.