Marie-Antoinette Demagnez (1869–1925) was a French sculptor who worked during the late 19th century and early 20th century. Demagnez was a frequent exhibitor at the annual Salon art exhibition in Paris, and was one of only a few women whose works were juried into the show at that time in history.
She is best known for her stone statue called Source d’amour and her monumental war memorial statue at Saint-Chaptes that memorializes soldiers killed in both the First and Second World War.
Demagnez died in Paris in 1925.
Early life and education
Demagnez was born in Paris, France, in 1869. During a time in history when very few women ventured into the male-dominated world of bronze sculpture, Demagnez’s work was deemed to be of such good quality that she broke the barrier and was allowed to exhibit her work in what was at the time arguably the world’s most important art show—the annual Salon exhibition.Levey, Michael. (1993) Painting and Sculpture in France 1700-1789. New Haven: Yale University Press, p. 3. She studied sculpture under the direction of Antonin Mercié at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
Career Although perhaps best known for her World War I Memorial at Saint-Chaptes, she also produced a number of bust sculptures featuring prominent French citizens. Among these is a bronze bust of , cast by the A. A. Hébrard foundry, that she completed in 1911. Her circa 1895 stone sculpture entitled Mélancolie was described in 1902 by an art critic who said, "The work has delicate and thoroughly feminine sentiment, and is distinctly praiseworthy, albeit the execution shows marks of indecision and inexperience".
Demagnez won a bronze medal at the 1900 Exposition Universelle and also participated in the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition (informally known as the St. Louis World’s Fair) where she presented a stone statue called Poetry.
Demagnez completed an important World War I memorial in 1919 that is now located in Languedoc-Roussillon, Gard, Saint-Chaptes, France, in the Town Hall Square. It is made of stone, concrete and iron. It depicts a woman draped and crowned with laurel raising a palm with a soldier standing guard nearby.
Engraved on the bas-relief are the names of those soldiers from Saint-Chaptes that gave their lives for France in the First World War. The concrete portion was edited by Coignet of Paris. A plaque indicating the dead from this town in the Second World War was added sometime after that war ended in 1945.
Death Demagnez died in Paris in 1925.
List of Works +ImageTitleYearTypeMaterialNotesLocationBust of M. Wagner1892BustPlasterSalon du 1892, Palais de l'IndustrieMonsieur le comte H. de la R.1893BustMarbleSalon du 1893, Palais de l'IndustrieMonsieur le comte J. de la B.1895BustBronzeSalon du 1895, Palais de l'IndustriePoesie1897StatueStoneReceives an honorable mention at the Salon du 1907. Wins a bronze medal at l'Exposition décennale des beaux arts during the 1900 Exposition Universelle Paris.Salon du 1897, Galerie des machines. 1899-1900 l'Exposition décennale des beaux arts, Grand Palais
1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, USAÉtude de Tète1898Salon du 1898, Galerie des machinesLa fortune et le jeune enfant1901Salon du 1901, Grand PalaisLa Source d'amour1902Deep reliefArt critic Yvanhoe Rambosson describes the piece as a charming sculpture group containing a young nymph putting her hands up to the spring and drinking from it.Salon du 1902, Grand Palais Salon du 1903, Grand PalaisL'Aveu1903Salon du 1903, Grand PalaisLe Pardon1905Sculpture groupStoneSalon du 1905, Grand PalaisSouvenir1906BustPlasterSalon du 1906, Grand PalaisJeunesse1907Garden planterBronzeSalon du 1907, Grand PalaisPortrait of M. Bellan1907Bas-relief BronzeSalon du 1907, Grand Palais Salon du 1912, Grand PalaisHarmonie1908Salon du 1908, Grand PalaisPortrait of M. Cheramy1910BustBronzeSalon du 1910, Grand PalaisLe Souvenir1914StatuePlasterFigure forming part of a monumentSalon du 1914, Grand PalaisLa Marne1921Sculpture groupPlasterreferences the 1914 sculpture Le SouvenirSalon du 1921, Grand PalaisPortrait de Madame la Duchesse de La R.1922BustPlasterSalon du 1922, Grand PalaisPomone, reine des Vergers1923Decorative statueStoneSalon du 1923, Grand Palais
Signature example
References