René JULIEN

"A sculpture is a motionless impulse, able to enchant the present moment."

Jacques Salomé

René Julien (1937-2016) is one of the major figures of Belgian figurative sculpture.

Appointed professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Liège at twenty-five, then director of an academy in Brussels, he devoted his work to women, couples and tenderness, with a command of modelling and movement that makes his bronzes instantly recognisable.

Art Thema accompanied René Julien for nearly thirty years and now continues to share his work together with his estate.

As the moulds no longer exist, no further casting is possible: the bronzes still available are the last ones.

René Julien (Publication 2021)

CV René Julien english

CV René Julien Français

CV René Julien Nederlands

Born in 1937 in Hollogne-aux-Pierres, near Liège, René Julien studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Liège. He was appointed professor there at twenty-five, later becoming director of the Academy of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode in Brussels and an inspector for the fine arts commission of the French Community of Belgium.

His subject was the human bond: women, couples, children, gestures of tenderness. His slender, graceful figures draw their strength from exceptionally fine modelling and a keen sense of movement. Light slides across the volumes; bodies always seem about to leap, lean or embrace.

His work was honoured with the Godecharle Prize, the Antoine Watteau Prize and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France.

His monumental works punctuate public space in Belgium and abroad:

"L'Envol de la Wallonie", five metres, for the Walloon Government, Liège
"Les Égéries", eight female figures, European quarter of Brussels
"Les Navetteuses", Brussels Airport
"The Return", Victoria Station, London
"Le Génie des Galeries", for the 150th anniversary of the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, Brussels
Works at the Egmont Palace, the Château de La Hulpe, Amnesty International and AXA
An edition of "Les Égéries" was acquired by Huawei for its European campus in Shenzhen

In 2012, a book devoted to his sculpture was published with the philosopher Jacques Salomé, and the film director Gérard Corbiau dedicated a documentary to him, "Le Souffle du rêve".

Art Thema represented René Julien for nearly thirty years. In 2021, the gallery staged a monumental exhibition in Ramatuelle bringing together eighteen sculptures across three sites, from the Château des Marres to Pampelonne beach: one of the most significant projects in its history.

Today, Art Thema works with the artist's estate and offers a selection of his most iconic works, among the last editions still available.

Would you like to acquire a work by René Julien, or have one appraised? Write to us: we have accompanied his work for thirty years.