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Bust of Madame Raymonde Bessard: M.4-1979

Object information

Current Location: In storage

Titles

Bust of Madame Raymonde Bessard

Maker(s)

Sculptor: Despiau, Charles
Founder: Valsuani, C.

Entities

Categories

Description

Bronze, cast, with very dark brown, almost black patina. The sitter is shown full face, her eyes wide open, her features in repose. Her hair is parted on the right side and pulled back behind her ears into a mass of rough curls at the nape of the neck. She wears a V-necked garment. A series of seams are visible when the bust is viewed from above.

Notes

History note: From the collection of the painter Dunoyer de Segonzac; Bruton Gallery, Bruton, Somerset

Legal notes

Bought with the Gow Fund and grant-in-aid from the Victoria and Albert Museum

Measurements and weight

Depth: 24.5 cm
Height: 45.5 cm
Width: 45.8 cm

Place(s) associated

  • Paris ⪼ France

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bought (1979) by Bruton Gallery

Dating

1940s
20th Century, Mid
Production date: after AD 1946 : Madame Bessard sat to Despiau between 1938 and June 1939 and between 1943 and May 1944. The bust was completed by August 1944 but was not cast in bronze until after the sculptor's death in 1946.

People, subjects and objects depicted

Project

  • Sculpture UK

Components of the work

Sculpture Depth 25.3 cm Height 46.5 cm Width 45.2 cm

Materials used in production

Bronze

Techniques used in production

Casting (process) : Bronze, cast, with very dark brown, almost black patina
Patinating

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: C. Despiau
  • Location: On left of back from viewer
  • Type: Signature
  • Text: 2/10
  • Type: Number

Inscription present: within a double-outlined rectangle with rounded corners

  • Text: CIRE C VALSUANI PERDUE
  • Location: On right of back facing viewer
  • Type: Mark

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: M.4-1979
Primary reference Number: 13719
External ID: CAM_CCF_M_4_1979
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 18 December 2023 Last processed: Monday 18 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Bust of Madame Raymonde Bessard" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/13719 Accessed: 2024-12-25 19:25:22

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/13719 |title=Bust of Madame Raymonde Bessard |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-25 19:25:22|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-13719

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