Henri Gouzien

Henri Gouzien was born in 1889 in Lorient in Morbihan. Most of his recorded work involves sculptural work for war memorials in the Morbihan area and many of his compositions include a grieving woman in Breton costume.

Works NameDateNotesThe war memorial of Rochefort-en-Terre 1924The first move to remember the men born in Rochefort-en-Terre who died in the 1914-1918 war was the erection in November 1919, of a plaque opposite the church listing the names of the dead. The artist Alfred Klots then completed a triptych painted in oils and showing scenes from the life of a soldier. Then a war memorial was inaugurated and Gouzien carried out the sculptural work which involved the depiction of a soldier.

These inscriptions are written in Breton and French, and in front of the obelisk is a sculpture of a praying woman in Breton dress. The war memorial of Baud1923Gouzien's composition is carved from granite and kersantite, and depicts a couple in mourning. They wear regional dress and the military helmet of the son they have lost lies at their feet. It is a most poignant composition. On the pedestal are four bas-reliefs by Gouzien, these showing various stages of a soldier's life. In the first he is depicted departing for the front by train. The second shows fighting in the trenches and the third shows him returning home. Gouzien however reminds us that many did not return and to underline this the fourth panel depicts soldier's graves. uprightThe war memorial of Arzano 1922The war memorial of Arzano depicts a helmeted soldier throwing a grenade. The war memorial of Pluméliau 1924Inscriptions read and The war memorial of Bignan 1923159 men from this small town in Brittany laid down their lives during World War I as well as many who disappeared during the German occupation of World War II and some victims of the Algerian War. The old war memorial which had been inaugurated on 4 November 1923, had to be replaced when the town centre underwent major reconstruction. It was Gouzien who had carried out the sculptural work on the old memorial. Monument dedicated to Louis Nail 1923This monument involves a tall column decorated with a médaillon in bronze by Gouzien and stands at the entrance to the fishing port at Keroman. Nail was a local politician in Lorient and had supported Keroman becoming a fishing port for many years.