Biography

Jacques Gestalder (1918-2006)

Jacques Gestalder born September 18, 1918 in Ivry-sur-Seine and died January 16, 2006 in La Charité-sur-Loire is a French sculptor.

Student of Robert WLÉRICK, founder of the Salon de la jeunesse sculpture (1948).
Member of the Salon d’Automne and the Société Nationale des Beaux-arts and founder of the Salon Formes Humaines (1963). Founding member and organizer of the Salon Comparisons from 1955 to 1990 (traditionalist sculpture section).
According to Mrs. Cécile GOLDSCHEIDER “one of the spiritual heirs of RODIN”.

Gestalder produced numerous portraits: Jean COCTEAU (national museum of modern art, Menton museum and Institut de France), Louis de BROGLIE (Institut de France: Académie des sciences), Paul CLAUDEL (Brangues museum), LE CORBUSIER (museum of the 1930s in Boulogne-Billancourt), François MITTERRAND, Abbé PIERRE, Jacques HÉBERTOT, etc. Jacques GESTALDER spent most of his life drawing and sculpting the stars of his time: Lysette DARSONVAL, Claire MOTTE, Wilfried PIOLLET, Claire SOMBERT, etc.

In 1955 Eugène SCHUELLER, the founder of L’Oréal, inaugurated at the Simone BADINIER gallery in Paris a personal exhibition of the artist entitled homage to the ballets Lycette DARSONVAL and he purchased two bronzes of dancers. Eugène SCHUELLER’s daughter, Liliane BETTENCOURT, wrote in June 2008: « I know how attached my father and my husband were to the work of Jacques GESTALDER, an artist so sensitive to the grace of dance gestures. » Two bronze sculptures of the star dancer Lycette DARSONVAL are erected at the Bettencourt Schueller foundation in Neuilly-sur-Seine.

Decorative monuments (Yerres, St-Cloud, Fontenay-le-Comte, Rueil-Malmaison, Conflans-Ste-Honorine, Beauvais, etc.). Two statues at Insep: the Winning Athlete (stone) and the Discobolus (bronze). Sculptures of Saint John and Saint Geneviève adorn the main facade of the Saint-Pierre church in Neuilly-sur-Seine.

Silver medal from the city of Paris (1958), gold medal from the Salon des artistes français (1979), DUMAS-MILLIER Prize for sculpture (Institut de France 1975 and 1987).

Honorary member of the National Dance Committee founded by Henri SAUGUET, Knight of Arts and Letters (2001).

A statuette of Discobole, a small replica of the bronze by Jacques GESTALDER erected since 1952 at Insep (National Institute of Sports and Physical Education), was given to Michel JAZY, winner of the Micheline OSTERMEYER Trophy, in 2004 to the National Committee French Olympic and Sportsman. This same Trophy was awarded to Yannick NOAH in 2005, to Isabelle AUTISSIER in 2006, to Annie FAMOSE in 2007, to Alain CALMAT in 2008, to Stéphan CARON in 2009… This Trophy rewards each year a high-level athlete whose journey, like that of Micheline OSTERMEYER, is part of a dual sporting and other success.

« GESTALDER with burning talent, having such a sense of form still included in the clay, of which the clay must give birth willingly or by force. GESTALDER, mind like Vinci, curious about all things, poet, in short a sort of Préault resurrected. »Robert REY, art historian and collaborator of Frantz JOURDAIN the founder of the Salon d’Automne. 1964. »

Beyond the names too often cited, Jacques GESTALDER is among the best statuaries of the 20th century alongside the greatest. Of course everyone knows RODIN, but France has known many other talents who bring honor to our cities, our squares and our palaces.

« Jacques GESTALDER is among the greatest. With JANNIOT, WLÉRICK, DESPIAU, BOURDELLE, CARPEAUX, DEGAS, he honors the French statuary that the world envies. »
Étienne AUDFRAY, sculptor, honorary president of the Société Nationale des Beaux-arts. 2004.

A bronze by Jacques GESTALDER representing the star dancer Alexandre KALIOUJNY in a jump from the Polovtsian dances of Prince Igor has been on permanent display since 1990 at the Opéra Garnier (entrance to the Library-Museum).

On the occasion of the retrospective of the works of Jacques GESTALDER which was held from March 27 to April 19, 2008 at the Taylor Foundation (Paris, 9th ardt.), the Internet radio station Canal Académie of the Institut de France carried out an interview with the artist’s wife (reference CARR362 on the station’s website).

On November 16, 2008, Mr. Nicolas DUPONT-AIGNAN deputy mayor of Yerres (Essonne), inaugurated in the park of the Town Hall a monumental marble by Jacques GESTALDER entitled the Sagittarius. On November 18, 2008, the ceremony of the entry of the bronze bust of Jean COCTEAU by GESTALDER took place at the Institut de France in the presence of Prince Gabriel de BROGLIE, chancellor of the Institute, Mrs. Hélène CARRÈRE D’ENCAUSSE, Perpetual secretary of the French Academy, of Mr. Arnaud d’HAUTERIVES, Perpetual Secretary of the Academy of Fine Arts, of several academicians, of Mrs. Jacqueline GESTALDER, wife of the artist, of Mrs. Dominique MARNY, great-niece of J. COCTEAU, of Mrs. Carole WEISWEILLER whose mother Francine WEISWEILLER received J. COCTEAU in her famous villa of Santo Sospir, of Mr. Claude SÉFÉRIAN, general secretary of the Friends of Jean Cocteau, of Mrs. Serge DASSAULT and numerous political and artistic personalities. The speeches of Prince Gabriel de BROGLIE, Mr. Arnaud d’HAUTERIVES and Mrs. Jacqueline GESTALDER were recorded by Canal Académie (reference CARR516 ​​on the station’s website).

As part of the exhibition entitled « Images of dance from Degas to the present day » which took place from June 25 to September 18, 2011 at the Dominicaines cultural space (Pont-l’Évêque), two bronzes by GESTALDER were presented: Alexandre Kalioujny and Claire Motte, both star dancers of the Opera. Also included in this exhibition were a small bronze of a dancer by Auguste RODIN and another by Théodore RIVIÈRE.

Two films were made about Jacques GESTALDER: « The stone and the form » (1962) by Paul SOULIGNAC and « GESTALDER sculptor witness to his time » (1990) by Arthur DESCLOZEAUX.

A 65-page catalog was published for the exhibition at the Taylor Foundation, in Paris, April 2008.

To find out more, read this Wikipedia link.