Denys Puech
A pupil of François Jouffroy, Alexandre Falguière and also Henri Chapu, Denys Puech enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts in 1873. In 1884, he won the Prix de Rome for *Mezence Blessé*, and it was from that point onwards that he began to undertake state commissions, notably official busts such as those of Jules Ferry (1895) and Émile Loubet (1901), as well as monuments for numerous towns and cities. He pursued a career as a society portraitist, which earned him great popularity with the public.
Busts make up the bulk of his work, with over 500 portraits. A graceful and refined realism shines through in his female busts, in contrast to his male busts, where the official character takes precedence. Stylistically, Puech remained faithful to academicism, which was rather resistant to innovation, favouring an classical approach to his work. In 1903, he initiated the project to create a sanctuary for Aveyron art in Rodez. To this end, Puech donated numerous sculptures and drawings to the town and succeeded in persuading his friends to do the same.