1874 Sculptor André Besqueut Letter to His Mentor Aimé Giron About Winning Beaux-Arts Honours, His Religious Convictions, and Negative Views of Paris

On offer is a remarkable four-page handwritten letter from the young French sculptor André Besqueut (1850–1942) to his early mentor, the author Aimé Giron (1836–1907), written in Paris on April 7, 1874.

Composed shortly after Besqueut won the Prix Crozatier and while he was studying art in Paris, the letter records his impressive results in competitive examinations at the École des Beaux-Arts and the École de la rue de Médecine. It then develops into an intensely personal account of religious conviction, rural memory, social alienation, and the culture shock experienced by a former shepherd confronting metropolitan Paris.

Besqueut begins by proudly reporting the results of his artistic training and his advance through the ranks of the admitted students. For example, at the École de la rue de Médecine (then commonly known as the Petite École and an institutional predecessor of the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs) he placed first in drawing from a living plant, second in modelling a figure from life, and received a medal and two honourable mentions:

“D’apprès la plante vivante reçu 1er figure modelé d’apprès nature — reçu 2ème […] Je suis heureux de vous dire que j’ai eut une medaille deux mentions à l’Ecole de la rue de médecine.” [“From the living plant, I placed first; modelling a figure from life, I placed second […] I am happy to tell you that I received a medal and two honourable mentions at the School of the rue de Médecine.”]

These accomplishments are particularly striking when considered alongside the letter’s heavily phonetic spelling and unconventional grammar. Besqueut had not received the education ordinarily associated with Parisian academic art. Born in a small Haute-Loire village to a clog maker, he had spent part of his youth tending sheep and learning to carve small figures in wood. The letter documents in his own hand the extraordinary transition from rural shepherd to prize-winning student competing within one of Europe’s most demanding artistic environments.

Besqueut describes an exhausting daily routine extending from seven in the morning until ten at night, with evenings spent in religious reflection with "Brothers."

He feels profoundly out of place among Parisian students who, in his view, care only for pleasure and money. Giron had evidently warned him about Parisian life, but Besqueut confesses that he had not believed the reality could be so severe. His fellow students mock his religious convictions, while he insists upon his right to speak of God and defend what he understands as truth.

The most memorable portion of the letter contrasts this morally threatening Paris with Besqueut’s childhood in the countryside. His prose becomes unexpectedly lyrical:

“Tout en faisant paître mes moutons je réfléchisai à la Nature qui m’entourait, je voyé paraitre l’aurore touts en alant dans les champs, au milieux des parfuns des fleurs, et des chants des oiseaux.” [“While grazing my sheep, I reflected upon the Nature surrounding me; I saw the dawn appear as I went into the fields, amid the fragrance of flowers and the songs of birds.”]

Against memories such as these, Paris appears spiritually and physically contaminated: “Je ne trouve point cet air à Paris rien qu’un air empoisonner par le vice” [“I do not find that air in Paris—only an air poisoned by vice”].

The letter possesses significance beyond the biography of a single artist. It is a compelling primary source for the study of nineteenth-century French art education, competitive examinations at the École des Beaux-Arts, social mobility, rural migration, religious belief, literacy and phonetic writing, working-class artistic training, and the psychological experience of encountering Paris.

It also documents the formative relationship between Besqueut and Aimé Giron. Giron reportedly encountered Besqueut when the future sculptor was only twelve years old and introduced him to the established regional sculptor Jean-Antoine Cubizolle. More than a decade later, Besqueut continued to report his progress to Giron with evident gratitude and respect. 

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES:

André Besqueut (1850–1942) was born at Saint-Christophe-sur-Dolaison in Haute-Loire. The son of a clog maker, he learned woodcarving at an early age and modelled small figures while also working as a shepherd. After Aimé Giron introduced him to Jean-Antoine Cubizolle, Besqueut received professional artistic instruction and won the Prix Crozatier in 1873, providing support for his studies in Paris. After his return to the Haute-Loire, he entered the Society of Jesus as a Jesuit brother but continued working as a sculptor. He produced approximately fifty sculptures, principally religious statues, busts, and portraits. Among his documented works are Saint Louis for Le Puy Cathedral, Saint Ignatius of Loyola for the Basilica of Sacré-Cœur at Montmartre, and his widely reproduced 1912 statue of Joan of Arc at the Coronation. Much of his surviving work is associated with the Musée Crozatier in Le Puy-en-Velay, which presented a major retrospective devoted to him in 1996–1997.

Aimé Giron (1836–1907) was a French lawyer, poet, novelist, journalist, and critic born in Le Puy-en-Velay. He began publishing while practising law and became known for writings inspired by the history and legends of the Velay and Haute-Loire. His works included Le Sabot de Noël, Les Amours étranges, Mystérieuses nouvelles, and Les Cordes de fer. He later contributed to Le Figaro, Le Gaulois, and Le Clairon and served for many years as editor of La France illustrée. Giron’s early recognition and encouragement of Besqueut’s talent gave him an important role in the sculptor’s development.