Famous French sculptor, whose best masterpiece was mercilessly destroyed by Breton nationalists

Jean Boucher (November 20, 1870 June 17, 1939) is a famous French sculptor of the late 19th first half of the 20th centuries, an outstanding master of monumental visual arts. Jean Boucher is best known for the creation of war memorials, and the best masterpieces of his work today adorn the squares of many cities in France. The artist’s biography is closely connected with his native Brittany, although he lived most of his life in Paris.

Jean Boucher was also a skillful mentor to young sculptors. Among his students, the names can be especially noted:

• Paul Belmondo;
• Francis Renaud;
• Jules-Charles Le Bozec.

Biography of Jean Boucher

Jean Boucher was born on November 20, 1870 in the small town of Seson-Sevigne, located in the west of France, in the province of Brittany. After graduating from elementary school, the twelve-year-old boy got a job as an apprentice in a blacksmith’s workshop, but very soon he became interested in drawing and modeling. On the advice of local sculptor Charles Joseph Lenoir, he began attending evening classes at the Rennes Art School and achieved brilliant academic success.

Local authorities praised Boucher’s abilities and provided the young artist with a government grant to continue his studies at the National School of Fine Arts. Taking this opportunity, in 1889 Jean went to Paris, where he became a student at a prestigious higher institution. The first mentor of the talented sculptor was Professor Alexandre Falguière, who instilled in his student a love for realistic art.

During his studies, Jean Boucher took part in academic exhibitions several times, but his work was never awarded the highest award. It was only in 1898 that the young sculptor took second place in the competition for the Rome Prize and won the right to travel to Italy. But the trip to Rome had to be postponed for several years, since the authorities of Rennes entrusted Jean with the fulfillment of the first large order. Together with a group of young colleagues, he was engaged in the restoration of an ancient cathedral in the town of Dol-de-Bretagne. Boucher easily coped with the important task and restored a number of relief sculptures on the west porch of the cathedral.

Having received a solid monetary reward for the work performed, in September 1901 Jean Boucher left Paris and went on a trip to Europe. He visited Belgium, Germany, Spain and England, and at the end of the trip spent several months in the Italian capital. Unfortunately, the second place in the competition did not give him the right to study for free at the French Academy in Rome at the Villa Medici, so the traveler had to confine himself to independent study of the works of ancient masters.

Returning to Paris in 1903, Jean Boucher was immediately commissioned to produce a monument to Ernest Renan at Tréguier.

For a job well done, he was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor and became widely known throughout France. From that moment on, he became a sought-after master and began to make good money.

In 1911, Boucher created a work that, according to most art critics, is considered the best masterpiece of the sculptor. In the niche of the main facade of the central Rennes hotel, a magnificent relief was installed under the name “Union of Brittany and France”. But the unique allegorical composition caused an acute negative reaction among the Breton nationalists, and in 1932 the militants of the terrorist organization “Gwenn Ha-Du” completely destroyed the master’s work with a bomb.

With the outbreak of World War I, Boucher was drafted into the active army, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant, received several military awards and was seriously poisoned by gases during the German attack near Ypres. And after returning home after the victory, Jean decided to devote himself to the fulfillment of a noble goal the creation of memorials to the soldiers who died for France.

It was the works of patriotic themes that brought the artist nationwide love and fame, although the sculptor’s creative legacy is by no means limited to war memorials. Jean Boucher also created many monuments to outstanding French poets, writers, political and military leaders, inventors and aviators. At the 1925 World Exhibition, he was awarded the highest award for his invaluable contribution to world art, and by the end of his life he became a full Knight of the Legion of Honor.

For many years, the master has combined his active creative activity with teaching young colleagues. As a full member of the National Academy of Arts, he willingly shared his knowledge with students and enjoyed great authority among them. Despite serious health problems, the great sculptor continued to work actively until his death and managed to create a huge number of wonderful works of art. But on June 17, 1939, Jean Boucher died in Paris at the age of 68. In accordance with the master’s will, he was buried in his native Brittany, where today, in the eastern cemetery of Rennes, is the tomb of the brilliant artist.

The most famous works of Jean Boucher

The outstanding master of sculpture has presented mankind with many admirable masterpieces. Still, some of the most famous works of Jean Boucher include:

1. The “Union of Brittany and France” (1911) is a unique relief that has not yet been restored for political reasons. In different museums in France today, only small surviving fragments of the author’s work are kept.
2. Monument to American Volunteers (1923) a monument dedicated to the Americans who fought as part of the French Foreign Legion during the First World War. At the top of the sculptural composition, a bronze warrior holds a headdress in a raised hand, and at the base of the monument, two soldiers shake hands in front of the figure of the goddess of victory.
3. Monument to Soldiers of Verdun (1929) a monument dedicated to the great feat of soldiers of France. More than 400,000 soldiers on both sides were killed in the bloody battle, but neither the French nor the Germans managed to achieve any tactical results.
4. Monument to Emile Fayol (1935) a sculptural composition depicting an outstanding military leader of France. The famous marshal rises above a pedestal, which is surrounded by two soldiers and an allegorical figure of a female warrior.

Jean Boucher is one of the greatest French sculptors of the twentieth century, who made a significant contribution to the development of European art. During his life, he created many monumental works and will forever remain in the memory of grateful descendants.