Marcel-Andre Bouraine
Born in Pontoise (Seine-et Oise), he studied under
Jean-Alexndre-Joseph Falguiere (1881 - 1900), who had reintroduced
and emphasized realism in nineteenth-century sculpture. Bouraine was
captured in Germany during the First World War, and interned in
Switzerland. In 1922, he exhibited at the Salon des Tuileries. The
following year he began to exhibit at the Salon d'Autommne.
He executed small-scale sculptures for several French firms,
including Susse Freres, Max Le Verrier and Austria's Arthur
Goldscheider, often exhibiting with the latter's La Stele and
L'Evolution groups. In 1928 Gabriell Argy-rousseau (1885- 1953)
commissioned a number of figurines from Bouraine, mostly female
nudes, but also a fountain and an illuminated group, all of which
were executed in colored, translucent pate de verre. He executed two
major commissions for the 1937 Paris International Exhibition.Art
Deco sculptures are emblematic of the early 20th Century's embracing
of dynamism, futurism and modernity and a lasting testament to their
style is that they are still decorating the homes of the 21st
Century.