Dimitri Chiparus (1888 to 1950)
Dimitri Chiparus (Demeter H. Chiparus) was born in Romania in 1888 and then traveled to Paris before World War I to study and develop his art. He attended school in Italy and at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, and he exhibited at the Salon in 1914.
Chiparus was particularly adept in the technique of chryselephantine, the combination of bronze and ivory to produce dramatic, stylized sculpture. He produced most of his renowned works between 1914 and 1933. In the 1920′s his work was influenced by Egypt, after the excavation of the Pharaoh Tutankhmen’s tomb. Some of his most dynamic works are dancers taken from the Russian Ballet, French theatre, and early motion pictures. Chiparus captured them in movement, dressed in high Art Deco style and modeled them as long and lean in appearance. Chiparus worked primarily with the Etling Foundry in Paris, and he died in Pairs in 1947 or possibly 1950.
Period Chiparus work almost always has a foundry name and D. H. Chiparus signature etched in the marble, and usually very hard to find and see. There are many reproduction on the market, and signatures alone mean nothing. Look closely at areas like the fingers; authentic period Chiparus sculptures typically have long, slim fingers with such detail that you can clearly make out each individual fingernail.