In the land of Leopold Chauveau's monsters

The casts were made by taking impressions of the originals in the Parisian workshop "Stéphane Gérard". Between tradition and innovation, these polymer bronze prints are patinated by hand. Stéphane Gérard is the only craftsman solicited by the artist's family for the quality of his execution. For him, Léopold Chauveau's sculptures are imbued with technique and deep sensitivity. The numbered prints are sold with a certificate of authenticity from Stéphane Gérard's company "SG ATELIER" - a guarantee of the origin and quality of their manufacture. The special edition of these pieces is a tribute to the poetic, tender and sometimes cruel world of Léopold Chauveau.

Parallel to his work as a doctor, embraced by family obligation but which he did not appreciate, Léopold Chauveau took refuge as a self-taught artist in a strange artistic universe, as singular as it was original. At once a sculptor, illustrator and author of books for adults and children, he was long forgotten by art history, before a donation from his grandson to the Musée d'Orsay in 2017 (18 sculptures and 100 drawings) brought his name back into the limelight. An atypical personality, Chauveau was introduced to sculpture around 1905 when he had been practising medicine for several years. From 1907 onwards, monsters became a leitmotif of his production, in both sculpture and drawing. Hybrid, his creatures are often endearing, clumsy and as if surprised by their own presence. Seeming to come out of his unconscious, they constitute for Chauveau real companions, the people of an imaginary world in which he would find refuge.

Stéphane Gérard is a moulder trained in Decorative Arts and Fine Arts, a former student of César with a 40-year career and thousands of artifacts. Integrating his production and creation in diversity, unexplored territories and the fusion between technologies and creation, Stéphane Gérard has realized over several decades creative commissions for a large number of recipients (galleries, artists, institutions, communities and companies). He was nourished by the classical heritage before exploring new techniques and radically renewing practices. Stéphane Gérard makes it a point of honour to pass on and dialogue with the younger generations. As a professor at Strate School of Design, he is keen to promote this discipline and to anchor it in its time. This is why his workshop is above all a laboratory.