Deprez, Paul-Gaston

Paul Gaston Déprez was a French sculptor from the late 19th century and early 20th century. He was born on March 21st, 1872 in a well-off family in Avignon. In 1890 he integrated the Ecole des Beaux-Arts where he developed a passion for sculpture. His favorite materials were wax, plaster and bronze. In 1892 Déprez started exhibiting at the Salon des Artistes Français. He lived in Avignon all his life, Boulevard Raspail, where he created many waxworks to produce bronzes. In 1912 following the decision by the president of the “Société Vauclusienne des Amis des Arts” to expel certain artistic domains from its exhibitions, Déprez joined Clément Brun ”Group of Thirteen”, where he worked with artists from Avignon like the painter Joseph Meissonnier and the sculptor Jean-Pierre Gras.  He died in 1941, leaving numerous wax works like the famous “Altaïr” or the Beethoven portrait reissued by his wife Gabrielle Decohorne after his death.