Charles Marie Louis Joseph Sarrabezolles

Charles Marie Louis Joseph Sarrabezolles (December 27, 1888 - February 11, 1971), also known as Carlo Sarrabezolles (or Charles or Charles-Marie), was a French sculptor.

Sarrabezolles was born in Toulouse, studied at that city's École des Beaux-Arts (1904-1907), then from 1907-1914 at the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, where he settled for good. In 1914 he was runner-up (premier second) in Prix de Rome competition. From 1914-1918, during World War I, he was held prisoner in Germany; in 1920 he married Nicole Cervi, with whom he had three children. In 1923 they moved into a studio at 16 rue des Volontaires where he remained until his death. A square there, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, bears his name.

His best-known work is probably The Soul of France, which he executed in three different materials: the first in plaster in 1921, the second in stone in 1922, and the last in bronze in 1930. In 1926 the sculptor developed a method of direct carving in setting concrete, and much of his subsequent work was integrated with architecture, particularly in collaboration with architect Paul Tournon, and in monumental scale.

Sarrabezolles was a member or president of artistic associations including Art Monumental, the Salon des Artistes Français, and the Foundation Taylor.

Selected works

• 1920-1922 - First monumental work, The Soul of France, winning National Prize and silver medal at the Salon
• 1925 - The Triumphal Dance of Pallas Athena and The Virgin of Peace exhibited at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes
• 1926 - Tower, Villemomble Church (Seine-St-Denis). Invention of direct carving in setting concrete
• 1928-1929 - Façade and bell tower, Elisabethville Church (Yvelines), with architect Paul Tournon
• 1928-1933 - bronze finial group Liberté - Égalité - Fraternité for the French Embassy, Belgrade, Serbia, for architect Roger-Henri Expert
• 1929 - Two Legendary Giants depicting the legendary Lydéric and Phinaert, bell tower, Lille (Nord) town hall. Also executed in direct carving of setting concrete.
• 1930 - Monumental fountain, Nemours Mansion and Gardens, Wilmington, Delaware, USA.
• 1930 - Marcella Miller du Pont, portrait bust in marble, University of Denver, Colorado, USA
• 1931 - War Monument for the RATP, Richelieu - Drouot (Paris Metro)
• 1931 - architectural bas-relief La gloire de la Seine, near Pont Neuf, Paris
• 1931 - Four human races in concrete, belltower, Notre-Dame-des-Missions-du-cygne d'Enghien, with architect Paul Tournon
• 1932 - Bust of Edouard Branly, Jardin du Luxembourg
• 1932 - Genie de la Mer (Spirit of the Sea), ocean liner SS Normandie, for French architect Roger-Henri Expert
• 1934-1935 - Decorations, church at Saint-Esprit (Paris, 12th arrondissement) and church of St-Louis, Marseille. Direct carving in concrete
• 1937 - exhibited The Elements, north wing of the Palais de Chaillot, Exposition Internationale
• 1950 - Monument to the Glory of the Resistance of the people of the Jura Mountains, Lons-le-Saunier (Jura)
• 1951 - Faculty of Medicine (Paris): three medallion reliefs. From this time onwards, he made many busts, portraits for medals, decorative schemes for school buildings etc.
• 1963 - La Antillaise (The West Indian Woman), Fort de France, Martinique

Gallery

References

• Carlo Sarrabezolles: sculpteur et statuaire 1888-1971, by Genevieve Sarrabezolles-Appert and Marie-Odile Lefevre, Paris: Somogy, 2002. ISBN 2-85056-646-2.
• Biography