Rihard Guino (1890 - 1973) - Lot 34

Rihard Guino (1890 - 1973) Family portrait 1910s Plaster Small chips, soiling and restorations H. 32.5 x terrace W. 24.8 x D. 25 cm. Related literature : Pascale Picard-Cajan, Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, Guino, Renoir: la couleur de la sculpture, cat. exp. Perpignan, Musée Hyacinthe Rigaud, June 24-November 5, 2023, Milan, Silvana editoriale, 2023, pp. 43-45, pp. 152-159. Depicting a mother seated in an armchair surrounded by her two daughters, the youngest sitting on her lap, this plaster print is at the heart of Richard Guino's reflections on the theme of motherhood. Arriving in Paris in May 1910, Guino settled on rue Daguerre in the 14th arrondissement and attended the Académie Ranson, where Aristide Maillol taught. Maillol recognized the talent of the young Catalan artist, who assisted him in the creation of Les Saisons, encouraged him to exhibit and commissioned him to create bas-reliefs for the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, based on models by Maurice Denis. Alongside his work with Maillol and Denis, Guino pursued a personal career. From the 1910s onwards, Guino explored the theme of Maternity, and we can imagine that this research echoed the hope of a child within the couple he formed with Eulalie Verdier. His first group, Petite Maternité in glazed terracotta, produced in 1911, clearly shows the influence of Maillol, but also the originality of his research into color. In 1916, during the course of their collaboration, Auguste Renoir asked Guino to transpose into sculpture one of his canvases depicting his wife with their son Pierre, giving birth to Maternité. In 1920, at the end of this collaboration, Guino took up the theme again with Mère et Enfant or Grande Maternité, which he adapted in plaster, enamelled terracotta or even in bas-relief with Enfant au sein. This work could be a family portrait. It could be of Félicie Verdier, wife of Aimé Verdier, brother of his partner Eulalie, and their daughters Simone and Micheline. We know of drawings and photographs in the sculptor's studio around 1914 of his niece Simone. In correspondence between the two brothers-in-law, Aimé Verdier, then a prisoner of war, thanks Guino for the portraits of his daughter. We would like to thank the co-managers of the Succession Richard Guino for their help in drafting this notice. At their request, we remind you that this work is protected and its reproduction forbidden, its publication being limited to the artist's rightful owners.