Demetre Chiparus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Demetre Haralamb Chiparus (16 September 1886, Dorohoi, Romania - 22 January 1947, Paris, France) was an Art Deco era sculptor who lived and worked in Paris. He was born in Romania, as a son of Haralamb and Saveta, and attended school in Italy. Before World War I, he traveled to Paris to attend the Ecole des Beaux Arts and pursue his art. In 1914 he exhibited at the Salon. He employed the combination of bronze and ivory, called chryselephantine, to great effect. Most of his renowned works were made between 1914 and 1933. In the 1920's, his work was influenced by an interest in Egypt, after Pharaoh Tutankhamen's tomb was excavated. Dancers of the Russian Ballet, French theatre, and early motion pictures were among his more notable subjects and were typified by a long, slender, stylized appearance. He worked primarily with the Etling Foundry in Paris. Buried in Bagneux cemetery, just south of Paris.