Gunnar Nilsson | 1904 - 1995
Gunnar Knut Nilsson, born 1904 in Karlskrona, died 1995 in Versailles in France, was a Swedish sculptor. Gunnar Nilsson studied watercolor painting and modeling at the Technical Vocational School in Karlskrona in 1918-19 and on his own in addition to working as a clerk at Finspångs Metallwerk. His debut exhibition was in Finspång in 1927. With the help of a local fundraiser, and after the encouragement of Carl Eldh, he traveled to Paris in 1928 to study sculpture for, among others, Charles Despiau and Paul Niclausse. In Paris he socialized with Bror Hjorth, whose former studio he also rented, Carl Frisendahl and Alberto Giacometti. He came to belong to "Le groupe des Neuf'' with Paul Cornet and Jean Osouf. He later settled in Le Chesnay, near Versailles. He has mainly made himself known for sculptures of young girls and is represented at the National Museum. Some of his works:
Young mother, sculpture in Skärholmen, Stockholm.
Mimi or La petite baigneuse 1956 on Karlavägen and outside the Courthouse in Ronneby
Jean Osouf | 1904 - 1995
Born into a Protestant family, Jean Osouf was a figurative sculptor.
He first distinguished himself during the First World War and was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his bravery under fire.After the war, Osouf bought a bookshop on Place de la Sorbonne, where he secluded himself “to read.”
It was Aristide Maillol, through the mediation of Jean Osouf’s first wife, Gisèle de Pallarès (with whom he had three children), who convinced him of his talent for sculpture. From then on, Jean Osouf joined the Scandinavian Academy, where he was initially a student of Adam Fischer and associated with Astrid Noack and Hans-Jacob Meyer, before studying under Charles Despiau.
He converted to Catholicism, deeply moved by The Smile of the Reims Cathedral. Medieval influence would remain a dominant force in his artistic practice throughout his creative journey.
He gained recognition as early as 1937 during the World’s Fair, where he was commissioned to create a 2.5-meter-tall stone statue titled The Awakening, placed in front of the Museum of Modern Art.
His career then took off, particularly in Scandinavia, where all the national museums acquired his bronzes and inspired many swedish sculptors. It was during this time that he met Solveig Wedin, who became his second and last wife, with whom he had two more children.
On November 11, 1963, he founded the Group of Nine, alongside Jean Carton, Paul Cornet, Raymond Corbin, Marcel Damboise, Léon Indenbaum, Léopold Kretz, Raymond Martin, and Gunnar Nilsson.
The classical and meditative style of Osouf, and his patient quest for inner light in his many portraits, give his work its uniqueness and authenticity.
