- 51
Aimé-Jules Dalou
Estimate
25,000 - 35,000 GBP
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Description
- Aimé-Jules Dalou
- avant le bain (before the bath)
- signed: DALOU stamped: CIRE PERDUE A.A.HÉBRARD and numbered (16)
- bronze, warm dark brown patina
Condition
Overall the condition of the bronze is excellent. There is some minor wear consistent with age.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
Avant le bain belongs to the series of individual female nudes which Aimé-Jules Dalou modelled during the 1870s. In exile from his own country following his involvement with the Paris Commune, Dalou built a highly successful career in London between 1871 and 1879. Eschewing the grand allegories and idealised forms of the Salon he presented scenes of intimate domesticity at the Royal Academy. His several variations on the theme of mother and child, and his quiet studies of women reading, caught the attention of the critics and won for him important commissions, notably his Monument to the Grandchildren of Queen Victoria at Windsor.
The nude studies were the private counterpart to the Royal Academy exhibits. They were never exhibited and seem to have been made for the artists own interest. They showcase Dalou's marvellous dexterity as the malleable clay captures the soft and curved essence of the female form. Delicately observed, the nudes are nevertheless focussed on the realism of folds of flesh and moments of everyday life. As Hunisak has observed, the nudes pre-figure Degas' well-known studies of similar private and quiet moments. The present nude clasps her arms across her chest against the cold, perhaps in the instant before bathing.
After Dalou's death in 1902 a number of the nude studies were cast by the Hebrard and Susse foundries. The present cast by A. A. Hebrard has a wonderful warmth of tone through the rich brown patina, which perfectly complements the subject.
RELATED LITERATURE
Hunisak, pp. 119-120, fig. 69; Bilbey & Trusted, pp. 241-251
The nude studies were the private counterpart to the Royal Academy exhibits. They were never exhibited and seem to have been made for the artists own interest. They showcase Dalou's marvellous dexterity as the malleable clay captures the soft and curved essence of the female form. Delicately observed, the nudes are nevertheless focussed on the realism of folds of flesh and moments of everyday life. As Hunisak has observed, the nudes pre-figure Degas' well-known studies of similar private and quiet moments. The present nude clasps her arms across her chest against the cold, perhaps in the instant before bathing.
After Dalou's death in 1902 a number of the nude studies were cast by the Hebrard and Susse foundries. The present cast by A. A. Hebrard has a wonderful warmth of tone through the rich brown patina, which perfectly complements the subject.
RELATED LITERATURE
Hunisak, pp. 119-120, fig. 69; Bilbey & Trusted, pp. 241-251