Carlo SARRABEZOLLES
Sculptor
Born in Toulouse 1888 Died in Paris 1971
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Direct Carving in Setting Concrete
"Direct Carving In Setting Concrete Without a
Maquette"
Extract from an article by C Sarrabezolles, 1933
"The parish
[of the Church of Villemomble] was
not rich: how with such small funds could one make such a sculptural work?
It was then that I decided to use concrete which was not yet fully set,
but even so was still hard, in which I had just a few hours time to do the
sculpture."
Carlo Sarrabezolles, sculptor of concrete
Extracts from an article by J de la Ruwière in
'Clarté' 1932
This time, Sarrabezolles has found a sculptural approach
which amazes and which instantly recalls the recalls the fresco painters
of past times, for Sarrbezolles carves into fresh concrete.
For some years sculptors have been working with cement,
using maquettes and moulds. Nothing of the sort here, we are talking about
carving cement. Just as the fresco painter paints the wet coating before
it drives, Sarrabezolles carves into the fresh concrete which he allows to
set in frames for ten hours [je ne sais pas si j'ai bien traduit cette
ligne], and which hardens as it dries. It is difficult work because it
means the artist must work with extraordinary speed and skill, and since
the cement hardens in several hours he has to work without stopping. (…)
What is clearly prodigious and disconcerting is that all
the figures have been executed in stages of 2.5 metres, starting from the
bottom, without a maquette! That is to say, that, installed on his
scaffolding, without being able to view it from a distance, and without
preparatory drawings, he carves the base of each of his figures, going
round the bell-tower, and it is only after about eight days that he
finishes the first stage of this work, and can get to work on the busts
and finally the heads.
I insist on this fact: he is not simply working on a
statue, rather he is working on an ensemble. He has to move from
Romanesque drapery to a decorative shield, to a monk's robe, then on to a
rich old chasuble; he passes without stopping from the serenity of a Saint
Benoit, to the ecstasy of a Saint Thomas of Aquinas to the wisdom of a
Saint Augustine.
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