BRONZE WORKS BY VALSUANI. Claude Valsuani Foundry.

Cire perdue, C. Valsuani

The VALSUANI Dynasty. BRONZE WORKS BY VALSUANI. Claude Valsuani Foundry.

First: VALSUANI Marcello

I – 1) VALSUANI Claude – son of Marcello

I – 2) VALSUANI Marcel – son of Claude

II – AFTER VALSUANI

II – 1) Demeurisse-Sokolowski

II – 2) Taube-Lebel Foundry

II – 3) Taube Foundry

II – 4) Plain Foundry

II – 5) Airaindor

II – 6) Art Brass

II – 7) Airaindor-Valsuani Art Studio

II – 8) Parisian Company of Bronzes and Sculptures - Paintings (BPBS)

Recently, a company “CEPIMEX” has appeared, specializing in import and export.

III – 1) VALSUANI Attilio – son of Marcello

III – 2) VALSUANI Lucien – son of Attilio

III – 3) VALSUANI Claude – son of Lucien

III – 4) VALSUANI Thierry – son of Claude

IV – AFTER VALSUANI: DELVAL

– – –

I – 1) VALSUANI Claude – Died September 9, 1923 – Son of Marcello

Period of existence: 1908-1981

Nationality: French

Address: 74 rue des Plantes, Paris XIV (Plaisance district).

Mark: CIRE / C. VALSUANI / LOST

(The stamp has belonged to Airaindor-Atelier des arts since 1981.)

On castings made by Leonardo Benatov after 1981, the marks are either identical to the old ones or slightly enlarged at the client's request.

Marcello Valsuani emigrated from Italy, most likely as a specialist in lost-wax casting and blowtorch patination, at the request of Hébrard in connection with the opening of his foundry in 1902. Marcello Valsuani probably preceded, and then sometimes replaced or assisted Albino Palazzolo as technical director or workshop manager, whom Hébrard hired only in 1903 and who returned to Italy during World War I.

The collection includes a bronze sculpture by Rembrandt Bugatti, who died in 1916, all of whose works were cast by Hébrard under an exclusive contract and were dedicated “To my friend Valsuani.” Rembrandt Bugatti, feeling greatly constrained by his contract with Hébrard, was rumored to have considered breaking it and having Marcello Valsuani cast his works, which led him to consider starting his own business. But perhaps it was due to the persistence of Bugatti and other artists eager to benefit from the family's expertise without contracts with Hébrard, that Claude, Marcello's son, opened his foundry in Paris in 1908 at 74 rue des Plantes.

Claude Valsuani is reputed to have shown automotive companies Bugatti (created by the sculptor's brother) and Renault his method of lost-wax casting for making engine parts.

Valsuani took up a space that had been used at the end of the 19th century by Pierre Bingen, a famous lost-wax specialist. However, Valsuani did not occupy Bingen's place but moved into a newer building: a small house where he lived with an adjoining workshop of 400 m2.

Claude Valsuani practiced hot patination with a blowtorch—a technique that became widespread only with gas burners that left no soot—a technique mastered by Italians at the beginning of the 20th century. He achieved results of extraordinary beauty. The Valsuani foundry was also famous for its “Italian-style” patinas and “cow dung patina” (see explanation of this technique in LEBON, p.256, bottom of column 2 and p.261, note 7)—a slow but economical process producing surprisingly high-quality results. Around 1910, he employed four to five people.

Following Hébrard's example, Valsuani adopted the practice of numbering bronzes, though probably not systematically at first. He indicated on his casts the number of each sculpture relative to the total number planned, something neither Hébrard nor Rudier did at that time. He appears to have been the first to use this method, probably at the initiative of sculptors who, having learned from Hébrard, chose unequivocal numbering. This type later became the legal standard.

The editions of casts produced at Valsuani were often limited to 10 or fewer. While not mandatory, this standard was apparently adopted by sculptors wishing to restrict their production from the early 20th century up to the 1968 regulations.

At the beginning, Claude did not systematically mark his works.

He quickly built a reputation as an excellent lost-wax caster. He attracted artists who valued quality. Never acting as a dealer, he willingly offered support. At the end of hostilities in April 1918, he remained alone and continued to work at the foundry.

In 1919, he was involved in the Rodin counterfeits case against Montagutelli. His good faith was recognized and he was not prosecuted.

The sculptor Pierre Bouret worked at the foundry as a retoucher until the mid-1930s. Turridu Clementi, a young orphan and son of the founder Tullio Clementi, did part of his apprenticeship with Claude Valsuani (between 1927 and 1932).

Attilio (died around 1960), Claude's younger brother, likely worked with him, since when Claude died suddenly, it was Attilio who warned clients and announced extraordinary measures. However, he did not take over and founded his own lost-wax casting business by 1926 at the latest.

I – 2) VALSUANI Marcel – 1924–1974

In 1923, Claude's widow managed the business. Then, in 1924, his son Marcel, named after his grandfather, interrupted medical studies to replace his father. He retained Claude Valsuani's mark and maintained the foundry's excellent reputation.

Under both Claude's and Marcel's names, the foundry attracted the most prestigious and demanding sculptors. The “Claude Valsuani” mark became synonymous with excellent quality and remarkable patina. The “Valsuani black patina” is one of the most famous patinas produced by this firm.

Valsuani is sometimes mentioned as a publisher in the interwar period—for example, for Pompon. However, he cannot be considered a publisher in the same way as Susse or Barbedienne: no contracts were made with artists, who did not relinquish any rights and controlled their own production. Valsuani was simply their founder.

Like most of his colleagues, Marcel Valsuani saw his business decline in the 1930s. He was mobilized for the duration of the war. The foundry did not reopen until 1947.

In December 1950, Marcel Valsuani acquired the land and buildings at 74 rue des Plantes. In 1952 the company employed 6 people, growing to about twenty by the mid-1970s.

Valsuani sometimes subcontracted sand casting either to Susse or Georges Rudier. The castings were delivered unfinished to Valsuani, who completed them (and applied the “C. Valsuani” mark).

In 1973, Marcel Valsuani retired and moved to Nice, leaving the company to his technical director, Antoine Tamburro.

Claude Valsuani is the author of a text titled: "Modern Processes of Lost-Wax Casting," reproduced in Devaux, p. 301.

II – AFTER VALSUANI

II – 1) Demeurisse-Sokolowski – 1974-1977

In 1974 at the latest, the business was sold to Anne Demeurisse, daughter of the sole heir of sculptor Pompon, who entrusted management to her husband Jacques Sokolowski, an insurance broker by training whose ambitions arose at a time of recession. The company suffered heavy losses, some practices aroused hostility from the profession, and it was declared bankrupt in 1977.

In 1977, the company was taken over by the sculptor Olivier Brice (famous for creating the throne of Bokassa!), who managed it from 1977 to 1980. Then part of the team left to participate in the creation of a new foundry named:

II – 2) Taube-Lebel Foundry – 1977–circa 1981

Lost-wax

In 1977, Jean Lebel, former project manager at the Claude Valsuani foundry on rue des Plantes, partnered with Taube to create the “Taube-Lebel Foundry” in La Plaine-Saint-Denis. The technical team was led by D. Jolivot and J. Rosini, former Valsuani employees since 1974.

II – 3) Taube Foundry – circa 1981 – March 24, 1984

Lost-wax

Jean Lebel left the company around 1981.

Mark: . WAX . / TAUBE / (tree in the center) / PARIS / LOST

Only Lebel's name was removed from the mark.

The Taube Foundry ceased operations on March 24, 1984.

II – 4) Plain Foundry – 1984-1985

Lost-wax

Address: 6 rue Proudhon, 93210, La Plaine-Saint-Denis.

Stamp (hexagonal): FOUNDRY / OF / PLAIN / (center: sun) / LOST WAX

The company’s assets were immediately transferred to D. Jolivot and J. Rosini, who created the LLC “Fonderie de La Plaine.”

Molding is sometimes subcontracted. Wax patterns, casting, chasing and patination are carried out by the company itself.

II – 5) AIRAINDOR – 1985-1992

Mark: WAX / AIRAINDOR / LOST

The Airaindor foundry opened in Chevreuse in 1985. As early as 1981, its founder, the sculptor Leonardo Bounatian-Benatov, aka Benatov (1942-), son of the Russo-Armenian artist Leonardo Bounatian-Benatov (1899-1972), moved the foundry by opening Airaindor Valsuani in Chevreuse. He acquired the “CIRE/C.VALSUANI/PERDUE” stamp at auction, which he uses either as is, or in a slightly enlarged and more squared-off version at the request of the client or when he wants to distinguish his work from the famous foundry on rue des Plantes. In 1989, Benatov was officially recognized, and again in appeal in 1991, in proceedings initiated against Michel Toselli, as the registered trademark owner “Valsuani.” However, in 1997 he lost in cassation to Thierry Valsuani (great-grandson of Attilio Valsuani and a founder himself), who after Michel Toselli became owner of the «Attilio Valsuani» mark, which he was defending legally over use of the surname.

The foundry specializes in vacuum casting single pieces and monumental works. In June 1992, Airaindor was placed under judicial administration by court decision.

Mr. Benatov recreated the company:

II – 6) ART BRASS – 1993

Subsequently, the foundry changed names several times; the founding dates are relatively uncertain…

II – 7) Airaindor-Valsuani Art Studio – operating after 1993

Address:

– 72 bis, rue de la Porte de Paris, 78460 Chevreuse

– La Croix Saint-Lubin, rue Fabre d'Églantine, 78460 Chevreuse

II – 8) Parisian Company of Bronzes and Sculptures – Paintings (BPBS)

And more recently: “CEPIMEX”, as an import-export company.

In the early 1990s, the foundry was closely linked to the ART et ART gallery at 204 boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris.

On January 6, 2012, Benatov was awarded the “Living Heritage Company” label by Frédéric Lefebvre, Secretary of State in charge of Crafts, and Valérie Pécresse, then Government Spokesperson.

III – 1) VALSUANI Attilio – died ca. 1960 – son of Marcello

Period of existence: up to 1927 (1926?) – 1981

Nationality: ?

Address: 1 rue Gustave Tricard (= 108 avenue Aristide Bruand, = 108 route d’Orléans, = 1 rue Bertie-Albrecht), Bagneux (Hauts-de-Seine)

Stamps:

– WAX / A.VALSUANI / LOST

– Lost wax / A.Valsuani / Paris (only one example)

Marcello Valsuani arrived in France at the beginning of the 20th century, apparently at the request of Hébrard, who appointed him workshop manager when his foundry opened in 1902. Attilio’s two sons arrived with him or soon after: Claude, who opened a foundry on rue des Plantes in 1908, and Attilio, who was living in Paris by 1910 at the latest.

It is possible that Attilio initially assisted his brother. Despite the existence of several stamps, nothing confirms the existence of a foundry belonging to Attilio in Paris. Did he use the misleading but more prestigious designation of Paris before settling in Bagneux? The exact date of his move to Bagneux cannot be established. Sculptor Gualterio Busato reports that his father, Mario Busato, before opening his own foundry in 1932, worked as a wax retoucher with Attilio Valsuani from 1923 to 1931. Having frequented this foundry until its closure, Busato testifies that it always operated in precarious conditions.

In Bagneux, Attilio Valsuani appears as owner of a workshop at 1 rue Gustave Tricard from 1929, a house on rue Limours, and a small house at 44 route d’Orléans from 1934.

Records indicate he was a founder established in Bagneux no later than 1926, 1929 or 1931. He started quite precariously, probably around 1926, or even earlier if his establishment coincided with his brother Claude's death in 1923.

Attilio’s foundry appears in trade directories only in 1933: from 1933 to 1935 as “New artistic lost-wax foundry” , and from 1936 as “Valsuani, lost-wax casting.”

During 1950–56, Mrs. Valsuani, née Alice Siran, is listed as owner, paying property taxes. Attilio died around 1960.

Attilio welcomed demanding sculptor clients. He made his molds with cow dung (see LEBON, p.256, bottom of column 2, and p.261, note 7 for this technique). He always used a low-copper alloy that produced very yellow metal. After careful chasing, he applied a high-quality hot patina.

III – 2) VALSUANI Lucien

The foundry was passed to Attilio’s son, Lucien; he was listed as owner in 1972; his address was 2 avenue de Touraine, Sceaux.

III – 3) VALSUANI Claude – son of Lucien

Claude succeeded Lucien as company head at an unknown date (not to be confused with his great-uncle; see previous entry). Talented at patinas, he was less skilled at business management, and his passion for luxury led to his ruin.

In 1977, business taxes were collected from “Établissements Valsuani et fils SARL,” which oddly described themselves as a custom lead foundry.

Claude suffered from an incurable illness, and his foundry was in critical financial condition when, in September 1981, it was destroyed by an unexplained fire. All company archives and many molds were lost. Claude closed his company and sold the “Attilio Valsuani” mark to Michel Toselli for a symbolic amount in December 1981. (From 1989 to 1997, there was a lawsuit between Toselli and Leonardo Benatov concerning Valsuani marks).

Claude then contributed financially to the creation of a new foundry, run by his former workshop manager Gerard Delmas (see paragraph IV).

Claude died in October 1985.

III – 4) VALSUANI Thierry – son of Claude

After a long stay abroad, he joined the Delval company in 1983. In 1986, he left Gerard Delmas and opened his own foundry in Paunat, Dordogne, working under the “T. Valsuani” mark.

Gerard Delmas then became the sole owner of Delval (see section IV).

IV – AFTER VALSUANI: DELVAL

This foundry, named "Delval" by combining the two names Delmas–Valsuani, was founded in Antony, rue des Rabats. Gerard Delmas reused equipment saved from the fire and relied on the old Bagneux foundry clientele.

He was also supported by artists who had been clients of A. Valsuani and encouraged the creation of a new company. In 1986, he joined his sons Olivier and Arnaud, set up in Antony, and used his own mark.

A ‘Delval’ mark was immediately created and used (except when Delval made casts for Michel Toselli, as owner of the “A. Valsuani” mark, mainly for numerous works by Camille Claudel).

Start date: 1982, currently active.

Address: Rue des Rabats, Antony.

The foundry does not record the pieces cast or their numbering. Instead, it systematically assigns all responsibility for numbering, year of casting and sculptor’s signature to the client ordering the casts, thus seeking to disclaim any liability for possible irregularities. At this foundry, they practice casting, chasing and patina. There is no molding workshop.