Grave of Henri Laurens

Henri Laurens

Henri Laurens (February 18, 1885 – May 5, 1954) was a French sculptor and illustrator.

Early life and education

Born in Paris, Henri Laurens worked as a stonemason before he became a sculptor. In 1899 he attended drawing classes, during which he produced works that were greatly influenced by the popularity of Auguste Rodin.

Career

Later Laurens was drawn to a new gathering of artistic creativity in Montparnasse. From 1911 he began to sculpt in the Cubist style after meeting Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Juan Gris and Fernand Léger.

Laurens was exempted from call-up for the First World War, after having a leg amputated in 1909 due to osteo-tuberculosis.

Multi-talented, Laurens worked with poster paint, and collage, was an engraver and created theatre design and decoration. In 1915 he illustrated a book for his friend, the author Pierre Reverdy.

In 1938 he shared an exhibition with Braque and Picasso that travelled to major Scandinavian cities. In 1947, he made prints for book illustrations. In 1948 he exhibited his art at the important international Venice Biennale. That same year, he exhibited at the Galerie d'Art Moderne in Basel, Switzerland.

A great many of his sculptures are massive objects. An example of this style is the monumental piece L'Amphion, created in 1952 for the Central University of Venezuela, Caracas after a request from the architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva.

Laurens sculptural work influenced the work of architect Jørn Utzon, famous for the Sydney Opera House.

Death

Henri Laurens died in Paris, and was interred in the Cimetière du Montparnasse there. His tomb is decorated with his sculpture, La Douleur (Grief).

See: wikipedia

Montparnasse Cemetery

Cimetière du Montparnasse is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, part of the city's 14th arrondissement.

History

Created from three farms in 1824, the cemetery at Montparnasse was originally known as Le Cimetière du Sud (Southern Cemetery). Cemeteries had been banned from Paris since the closure, owing to health concerns, of the Cimetière des Innocents in 1786. Several new cemeteries outside the precincts of the capital replaced all the internal Parisian ones in the early 19th century: Montmartre Cemetery in the north, Père Lachaise Cemetery in the east, and Montparnasse Cemetery in the south. At the heart of the city, and today sitting in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, is Passy Cemetery.

Notes

Montparnasse Cemetery is the eternal home of many of France's intellectual and artistic elite as well as publishers and others who promoted the works of authors and artists. There are also monuments to police and firefighters killed in the line of duty in the city of Paris. There are also many graves of foreigners who have made France their home.

The cemetery is divided by Rue Émile Richard. The small section is usually referred to as the small cemetery (petit cimetière) and the large section as the big cemetery (grand cimetière).

Because of the many notable people buried there, it is a highly popular tourist attraction.

See: wikipedia