Paul De Vigne

Paul de Vigne (1843–1901), Belgian sculptor, was born on 26 April 1843 in Ghent. He created public monuments for display in Belgium and France.

He was trained by his father, a statuary, and began by exhibiting his Fra Angelico da Fiesole at the Ghent Salon in 1868. Among his contemporaries, Vigne, a classic sculptor, has the purest style, and the most anxious desire for harmonious perfection. His early works reflect the inspiration of Italian art, particularly that of Florence in the 14th and 15th centuries.

At his death he left unfinished his principal work, the Anspach Fountain, which was erected in Brussels under the direction of the architect with the co-operation of various sculptors. Among other notable works by De Vigne are Volumnia (1875); Poverella (1878); a bronze bust of Psyche (Brussels Gallery), of which there is an ivory replica; the marble statue of Marnix de Ste Aldegonde on the Sablon Square, Brussels; the Metdepenningen monument in the cemetery in Ghent; and the monument to Canon de Haerne in Kortrijk.