Bronze statue - The hostage

Bronze sculpture reproduction from the work of Emmanuel Villanis "The hostage", height: 46 cm

Bronze statue made ​​in the lost wax on a marble base.

Width: 17 cm - Depth: 14 cm.

Emmanuel Villanis (Lille, 12 December 1858 - Paris, 28 August 1914) was a French sculptor of Italian origin linked to the Art Nouveau movement. His name is sometimes spelled "Villani" in Italian.

In 1861, his parents return to Italy to settle in Piedmont. In 1871, the artist enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts Albertina in Turin, where he follows the teaching of Odoardo Tabacchi sculptor (1831-1905). Upon completion of his studies, his teacher pushes him to expose the bust Alda, for example, presented in Milan in 1881.

In 1885, Villanis settled in Montmartre, a Paris neighborhood that never leaves. The artist's reputation is built on its production of female figures. Aida, Judith, Delilah, Lucretia, Cinderella whose work brings together the great heroines of opera, literature, mythology and the Bible. Villanis also addresses some types - the Bohemian, the proprietress, or the Parisienne - and several allegories, Painting and Sculpture.

Conducted mainly in bronze, sometimes chryselephantines, his sculptures are subtly brand new art - including the lettering of the title, who regularly graces the base. His outstanding play on the patina adds to the fineness of the line, making Villanis a major sculptors of Art Nouveau. Regarding the cast bronzes, working primarily with the Society des Bronzes de Paris and Eugène Blot.