This is a portrait of the artist’s oldest son. Born in 1926, he was 8 years old at the time. “The smooth surface and the frank modeling, almost drawn, are typical of Osouf, who was inspired by both Maillol and Despiau, though he is closer to the latter.”[1]

 

The proof of Jean-Claude was made at the cooperative foundry of a group of artists who used sand casting. It was located in the rue Bezout in the 14th arrondissement, the same street in which Osouf had his studio. The foundry operated from 1920 to 1938, so this proof can be dated to between 1934 and 1938.

 

Two proofs of Jean-Claude, cast by Alexis Rudier, are held in public collections. One, with a gold patina, was bought by the State in 1937 and put in the National Museum of Modern Art (Inv.AM 664S). The sculpture is currently on loan at the Museum La Piscine in Roubaix. The second proof, bought by the Ny Carlsberg Foundation of Copenhagen in 1955, is in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptothek.

[1] Harboe, Julie, European art in the 20th century, New York, Carlsberg Glyptotek, 1994, p. 110.