JOSEPH MARIE THOMAS LAMBEAUX | LEDA AND THE SWAN

P. Verbraeken, Living Marble, Belgian Sculptors 1800-1930, Brussels, 2017, p. 64

Jef Lambeaux was arguably the most important Belgian sculptor of the late 19th century, with a very prolific output. He was known for his erotic works, and caused controversy with his explicit nudes several times in the 19th century: particularly his relief Human Passions was seen as indecent when it was unveiled to the public in 1899. The present bust of Leda and the Swan shows Leda's reaction to the seduction of the god Jupiter, in the form of a swan. Leaning back with her eyes closed, overwhelmed with ecstacy, Leda gladly submits herself to the swan's advances. Lambeaux has here continued in a tradition of using the theme of Leda and the Swan in order to visualize lust and passion. 

Born in Antwerp in 1852, Joseph Maria Thomas (Jef) Lambeaux studied at the Academy, working in particular in the workshop of Joseph Geefs. He trained in Paris for three years and frequented Rome and Florence, where he was greatly inspired by Baroque masterpieces. First exhibiting in the Antwerp Salon in 1873 and in Brussels in 1880, he won the gold medal in 1881 at the Brussels Exhibition. He is best known for his Fountain of Brabo in Antwerp and the colossal relief of the Passion de l'Humanite in the Parc du Centenaire, in Brussels. His famous sculpture The Kiss (1882) was purchased by the Antwerp Museum.