Paul De Vigne

Among his contemporaries, Vigne, a classic sculptor, has the purest style, and the most anxious desire for harmonious perfection. His early works reflect the inspiration of Italian art, particularly that of Florence in the 14th and 15th centuries. In 1872 he exhibited at the Brussels Salon a marble statue, Heliotrope (Ghent Gallery), and in 1875, in Brussels, Beatrix and Domenica. He was employed by the government to execute caryatides for the ornate facade of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. In 1876 at the Antwerp Salon he had busts of Emmanuel Hiel and W. Wilson, which were afterwards placed in the municipal museum in Brussels. Until 1882 he lived in Paris, where he produced the marble statue Immortality (Brussels Gallery), and The Crowning of Art, a bronze group on the façade of the Palace of Fine Arts in Brussels. His monument to the popular heroes, Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck, was unveiled in Bruges in 1887. At his death he left unfinished his principal work, the Anspach Fountain, which was erected in Brussels under the direction of the architect Charles-Émile Janlet with the co-operation of various sculptors. Among other notable works by De Vigne are Volumnia (1875); Poverella (1878); a bronze bust of Psyche (Brussels Gallery), of which there is an ivory replica; the marble statue of Marnix de Ste Aldegonde on the Sablon Square, Brussels; the Metdepenningen monument in the cemetery in Ghent; and the monument to Canon de Haerne in Kortrijk. • Illustration — Tomb statue l'Immortalité • Illustration — Triumph of Art (Brussels) • Illustration — Sculpture in Gentbrugge • Illustration — Lievin De Winne by Paul De Vigne

The field of work recorded is art of sculpture. Places of work recorded in the authority are Florence, Rome and Ghent. Work by Paul De Vigne is recorded in the collections of Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Museum of Fine Arts Ghent (MSK) and Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. Distinctions recorded are Knight of the Order of Leopold and Officer of the Order of Leopold.

• Name — Paul de Vigne • Born — 26 April 1843 • Birthplace — Ghent, Belgium • Died — 1901 • Occupation — sculptor • Illustration — Portrait of Paul De Vigne by Auguste Rodin, 1880, Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent

Paul De Vigne is recorded as having received Knight of the Order of Leopold and Officer of the Order of Leopold.