Aristide Maillol

Mitsukoshi, Ltd., Tokyo
Acquired from the above in 1995

John Rewald, Aristide Maillol, Paris, 1939, illustrations of another cast pp. 110-11
Waldemar George, Aristide Maillol, Berlin, 1964, illustration of another cast & of the terracotta version pl. 137
Waldemar George, Maillol, Paris, 1971, illustration of another cast p. 56
Waldemar George, Maillol et l'âme de la sculpture, Neuchâtel, 1977, illustration of another cast & of the terracotta version pl. 139
Bertrand Lorquin, Aristide Maillol, Geneva, 1994, illustration of another cast p. 53
Aristide Maillol (exhibition catalogue), Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lausanne, 1996, no. 34, illustration of another cast p. 92
Aristide Maillol (exhibition catalogue), Palais des congrès, Perpignan, 2000, no. 13, illustration of the plaster p. 55
Le Musée Maillol s’expose (exhibition catalogue), Musée Maillol, Paris, 2008, illustration of the terracotta version p. 97

This work is in excellent condition. The work has a mottled green patina. Few very minor scratches on the base. Otherwise fine.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Conceived in 1900, Léda is the first sculpture of great importance in Maillol's oeuvre. In the summer of 1902, Maillol exhibited this work, along with about thirty other statuettes and tapestries, at the gallery of his dealer, Ambroise Vollard, on the rue Lafitte. The sculpture of the mythical character Léda was among the most praised of those works included in the exhibition, and the writer Octave Mirbeau was so enchanted by this elegant figure that he purchased a bronze cast of it. "'Rodin came here," Mirbeau reported to Maillol. "He picked up your Léda, just as I had done, and looked at it intently, examining it from every angle, turning it round in every direction...It is most beautiful,' he said, 'what an artist!' He looked at it again, and went on: "Do you know why it is so beautiful and why one can spend hours looking at it? It is because it makes no attempt to arouse curiosity.' And there was a look of melancholy in his eyes. 'I do not know, I swear I do not know of any modern piece of sculpture that is of such an absolute beauty, an absolute purity, so evidently a masterpiece'" (John Rewald, Maillol, London, 1939, p. 13).

The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Olivier Lorquin.