Biography

Jean Chauvin was born on March 30, 1889 in Rochefort-sur-Mer. The sole survivor of six children, including his twin brother André Joseph. His entire body of work would be profoundly marked by the themes of birth and twinhood.

In 1906, at the age of 17, he carved with a knife what would become his first work, a birch wood sculpture that he later said he had hidden under a pile of coal, his father firmly opposing his vocation.

Portrait of his mother, colored pencil on paper, circa 1905

On March 14, 1908, he entered the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, then on January 7, 1909, the studio of sculptor Antonin Mercié at the École des Beaux-Arts. He remained there until 1915, having been exempted from military service on December 9, 1914. He met François Pompon, with whom he would become close.

In 1909, he created La Toilette in Japanese ebony wood, considered one of the first abstract sculptures.

Between 1913 and 1920, Chauvin participated in the Salon d'Automne and the Salon des Indépendants while working in Joseph Bernard's studio, where he participated in the carving of the Frise de la danse (now at the Musée d'Orsay). As a member of the Salon d'Automne, he also exhibited two sculptures in 1928. Turning definitively toward abstract sculpture, he was noticed by the collector Jacques Doucet, who purchased one of his works.

Self-portrait, oil on cardboard, 1909

La Toilette, 1909, Japanese ebony wood

In 1928, Chauvin held his first solo exhibition at the gallery Au Sacre du Printemps. Taken over by Jeanne Bucher under her own name, he would exhibit there until her death in 1947. During these years he became friends with Robert Rey, who would become Director of Fine Arts in 1944, and with Jean Cassou, founder of the Musée National d'Art Moderne.

It was around the 1930s that he moved to 9 rue du Chalet in Malakoff and became a property owner in Port-des-Barques.

Galerie Jeanne Bucher, rue du Cherche-Midi, Paris

With his friend Bernaux in Port-des-Barques, 1930s

In 1935, at the request of architect Pierre Patout, he created a large sculpture, Fontaine Lumineuse, for the ocean liner Normandie.

In 1937, again at Pierre Patout's request, Chauvin created a monumental sculpture (11 meters high) in burst concrete for the Artistes Décorateurs pavilion at the Exposition Universelle, as well as two large porcelain vases for the Sèvres pavilion.

In 1939, he exhibited at the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles at the Galerie Charpentier, for which he created the sculpture Guerre.

Fontaine Lumineuse, SS Normandie, 1935

Sculpture Signal, concrete, H: 11 m, World's Fair, 1937

From 1947 to 1955, under the auspices of Cécile Goldscheider (curator of the Musée Rodin), he exhibited in Bern (Switzerland), Prague (Czechoslovakia), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Stockholm (Sweden), Düsseldorf (Germany), and elsewhere. In 1949, he held a solo exhibition at the Galerie Maeght in Paris.

Throughout these years, Chauvin divided his time between Malakoff, where he modeled his maquettes and drew for six months, and Port-des-Barques, where he sculpted for the other six months.

Derrière le Miroir no. 18, Galerie Maeght, March 1949

Several important dates mark this period: in 1960, Christian Zervos dedicated a monograph to him; in 1962, he was chosen to represent France at the 31st Venice Biennale; in 1976, he donated 162 sculpture maquettes to the Musée National d'Art Moderne.

Entirely devoted to his art, his personal life remains largely unknown.

Portrait of Jean Chauvin by Jean Bazaine, 1960

Chauvin, Christian Zervos, Éditions Cahiers d'Art, 1960

Maquette, plaster, donation to MNAM, 1976