René QUILLIVIC (Plouhinec, 1879 - Paris, 1969) Presumed bust of Marie Le Bail née Maignan, 1906. Plaster proof signed "Quillivic" and dated "1906" on the back. Height: 53.5 cm. Length: 47 cm. Width: 27 cm (minor wear and accidents, cracks). Provenance: collection of Edouard Plouzané (1859-1920), MP for Finistère from 1910 to 1914, by descent. This bust is one of Quillivic's early sculptural works from 1906 to 1908, a period during which he returned regularly from Paris to Plouhinec and tried his hand at depicting members of his entourage. Our subject, unknown in Quillivic's sculptural work, is interesting in several respects. For example, the artist (probably) depicts the wife of the Mayor of Plozevet, Georges Le Bail, who became a member of parliament for Finistère in 1906. This parliamentarian was to have a decisive influence on Quillivic's artistic career, as he obtained a scholarship from the department to study in the studio of sculptor Antonin Mercié in Paris until 1908. Was it a commission from the deputy Le Bail, or a courtesy gift in gratitude for the scholarship? This bust may have remained in the rough, but it undoubtedly exists in a definitive version in a different material.