/en/artist-detail/240040/anne-marie-profillet
/en/artist-detail/240040/anne-marie-profillet
Anne-Marie PROFILLET
The daughter of an officer, Anne-Marie Profillet was born in Rennes, where her father, Julien-Joseph, was stationed. The youngest of six children, she followed her family from post to post as her father, a commander, was transferred. Energetic and independent by nature, she was also a keen student and completed her studies with distinction. As she showed a particular talent for drawing, her family decided to enrol her at the École d’art et de dessin on Rue Madame, under the guidance of the painter L.F. Biboul (1874–1947), who was particularly famous for his nude paintings. Unable to see eye to eye with this overly academic teacher, she left his class to enrol at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts, where she joined the studio of the sculptor Navellier and became friends with the sculptor Artus.
In 1926, she made her debut at both the Salon des Artistes Français with Étude d’âne (cat. no. 3639) and the Salon d’Automne with Pigeon-paon (cat. no. 1837), the model for which was purchased by the Manufacture de Sèvres, which went on to produce it. The following year, she contracted pleurisy, which brought her work to a temporary halt. In 1929, as she worked every morning at the Jardin des Plantes, she eventually became friends with the sculptor François Pompon, with whom she formed a close bond and who would henceforth guide her in her work. She adopted her mentor’s smooth style, in which details were reduced to mere hints. Pompon, who had recently lost his wife, felt great affection for the young woman and regularly invited her to his home, particularly on Saturdays when a whole host of socialites and young artists would gather there. In February 1931, a group of young artists from the Société des Artistes Animaliers Français approached him to form the Groupe des Douze Animaliers Français in response to the Société des Animaliers, which, under the leadership of G. Gardet, was deemed too conservative. This split led to the dissolution of the Société and the creation of the Douze Animaliers Français, which brought together all those who identified with the working methods of Pompon, who was elected President. The first exhibition took place from 2 to 14 March 1932 at the G. Petit gallery.
Petit. Anne-Marie Profillet took part in both exhibitions organised by this group, which was disbanded in 1933 following Pompon’s death.
It was from this period onwards that she truly came into her own, creating larger-scale works carved directly from stone of all kinds (Hyena, Jaguar, Panther) for the 1931 Colonial Exhibition. Profillet travelled to Italy, the Netherlands, Greece and Spain, and regularly exhibited her works at the Salon d’Automne.
In 1938, the death of her mother, with whom she had always lived, plunged her into grief. Now living alone, she suffered bouts of depression and a severe relapse of her lung disease, which led to her being hospitalised. She died on 6 June 1939, two days after an operation, leaving behind an unfinished group of Barn Owls in her studio. Her sister bequeathed some thirty of her sculptures to the Musée de Vire.
Profillet’s career spanned a very short period, from 1926 to 1939, with her work taking on a smoother style following her meeting with Pompon in 1929. She produced very little for commercial publication (she produced only the Faisan chinois for Susse and this two-dimensional Caneton; both models were produced in very limited numbers and are therefore extremely rare); her bronzes were essentially artist’s proofs to which she devoted great care.
