MAURICE DERIAZ 1885-1974 Suiza

Maurice Deriaz (1885-1974), robusto atleta suizo que sirvió como inspiración para algunas obras impresionantes del artista francés Gustave Courtois (1852-1923) Maurice Deriaz and his older brother, Emile, were the most famous of seven athletic brothers. They were born in Baulmes, Switzerland - Maurice in 1885 - but lived in France from an early age. Maurice was five foot six and weighed about two hundred pounds. His neck was nineteen inches around, his chest forty-eight, and his waist thirty-five. His thighs measured twenty-six inches, calves sixteen-and-a-half, forearms fourteen, and his biceps seventeen. He was celebrated for his weight-lifting feats, his impressive gymnastic abilities, and as a champion Greco-Roman wrestler. Called Le lion suisse or Roi de la beauté plastique, speaking fluent English, German, and Russian, he performed all over Europe. As his career wound down, he acquired a factory which produced reeds for oboes, clarinets, saxophones. He would often return to visit his home town and he eventually returned to live in Baulmes, where he died in the summer of 1974.