Élie Le Goff was a French sculptor born in 1858 and who died in 1938. He was a pupil of Henri Chapu and Paul Guibe and was the father of Paul, Élie junior and Henri who were all artists and sculptors. All three sons lost their lives in the 1914–1918 war. Élie junior and Paul both joined the 71st Infantry Regiment in August 1914 then moved to the 74th Infantry Regiment, both dying from gas inhalation at Boezinge in Belgium on 22 April 1915. Henri was killed in 1918 in fighting around the Meuse.
This article gives details of most of Élie Le Goff senior's work and also two works by Paul Le Goff. Paul Le Goff was born in Saint-Brieuc on 1 April 1883 and died in 1915, Élie junior was born in 1881 and Henri was born in 1887.
Amongst Élie senior's works are the composition "L'enfant rieur", a bust of Villiers l'Isles Adam and several war memorials ("monuments aux morts"). His son Élie was a student at the École des Arts décoratifs in Paris. His works include "Un accident de carrière" and "Les Frileuses". His son Paul produced many works including "La Synthèse de l'hiver" which won the "Roux" prize in 1912 and "La forme se dégageant de la matière" which was awarded the "Prix Chenavard". His son Henri had studied in New York. In Saint-Brieuc one of the main streets carries the name "Trois Frères Le Goff".
Main works
The following are works attributed to him.
La Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Fontaine
Élie Le Goff was responsible for the limestone sculptures of Saint Brieuc and Saint Tugdual in this Saint Brieuc church situated in the rue Ruffelet. The original chapel was demolished in 1799 and reconstructed in 1838 by Julie Bagot. Le Goff's two sculptures date to 1896.
Decoration of the Saint-Laurent parish church in Callac
The capitals of the columns lining the nave of the Église paroissiale Saint-Laurent in Callac were by Élie Le Goff.
Bust of Charles Baratoux
This Élie Le Goff sculpture can be seen in Saint-Brieuc's Place Baratoux and depicts the ex-mayor Baratoux. Le Goff's sculpture replaced a Jean Boucher sculpture which had been confiscated in 1942 by the Vichy authorities and the bronze melted down for re-use.
Statue of Joan of Arc
This statue, carved from wood, stands in Guingamp's Rue Notre-Dame by the Basilique Notre-Dame de Bon Secours and is a work by Élie Le Goff based on Princess Marie d'Orléans' model of Joan called "Prière avant le combat" ('The Prayer before the Battle'). Joan is depicted in a suit of armour and carrying a sword. She is flanked by statues of Saint Catherine and Saint Marguerite. The statue stands on a column with relief panels carved from wood by Le Goff at its base. These reliefs depict:
1. "Jeanne d'arc ecoutant ses voix" - Jeanne d'Arc listening to her voices
2. "Le sacre de Charles vii" - Coronation of Charles VII in Reims
3. "Entrée triumphale à Orléans" -The triumphal entry into Orléans
4. "Supplice de jeanne d'arc" - The execution of Jeanne d'Arc
5. Apotheose
Princesse Marie d'Orléans was an accomplished sculptor and in 1838 executed a statue of Jeanne d'Arc and it is this that Le Goff used as a model for his sculpture.
Auguste de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam
Also in Saint-Brieuc's Parc des Promenades is a marble bust by Élie Le Goff of Auguste de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, the French symbolist writer. The work was completed in 1914.
The tomb of the three Le Goff brothers
Élie's sons Paul Le Goff and his two brothers were all killed in the 1914–1918 war and are buried in the Saint-Michel cemetery in Saint-Brieuc and Élie was commissioned to carry out the tomb's decoration. He executed a bronze medallion and in a tribute to Paul, made a granite version of a work in plaster entitled "Funérailles bretonnes" executed by Paul before the start of the war. This moving composition depicts the porch of a chapel from which three generations of Breton women are emerging. They wear mourning clothes. The Saint-Michel cemetery is located in Saint-Brieuc's Rue Jobert de Lamballe. Élie Le Goff junior was killed in Boezinge in Belgium in 1915, as was Paul Le Goff, whilst Henri Le Goff was killed in 1918 at Les Monthairons in the Meuse. The bronze medallion depicts the three brothers, from left to right, Élie, Paul, and Henri. Below the medallion is the granite relief. The inscription reads