Gaston Leroux-Veuvenot 

Biography of Gaston Leroux-Veuvenot  ( 1854-1942 )

Gaston Veuvenot was born in 1854 in Paris to an unknown father. His mother, Julia Veuvenot, at the age of 21, entrusted him to her parents, who raised him in Paris. It was in memory of his devoted and loving grandmother that the artist later chose the surname Leroux to sign his works.

To continue his studies, he decided in 1866 to join his mother, who had settled in Vienna and rebuilt her life with a member of the French diplomatic corps. In 1874, he attended the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, where he trained as a sculptor for three years under the academy's director, Carl Kundmann, and also studied under Gustave Deloye.

Released from his military obligations, Gaston Leroux was admitted in August 1881 to the sculpture department of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he became a student of François Jouffroy.

Leroux exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon, receiving honorable mentions in 1882 and 1883, as well as a third-class medal in 1885. He was also awarded a medal and a travel grant in 1885, followed by further medals in 1889 and 1900, at the Salons and World's Fairs. He was named a Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1908.

Strongly influenced by the Orientalist school, his most sought-after models were part of this artistic movement. His considerable renown brought him numerous official commissions.

Beginning in 1893, he taught as a professor of statuary at the École des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux and became the city's official sculptor. In this capacity, he carried out numerous commissions, including the statue of Tourny on the square of the same name, the tombs of the cardinals at the cathedral, war memorials, and a large number of busts, notably those of the mayors of Bordeaux. He also created a major sculpture in homage to the great artist Rosa Bonheur.