Raoul François Larche

When Raoul Larche exhibited his La Tempête et les nuées at the salon of 1896 he shocked and divided an art public accustomed to his typical sweet and graceful subjects. For an artist best known for his depictions of Loie Fullers' dances and lyrical allegories such as his Les Violettes, the group was certainly a departure. The clouds, in the form of writhing angry nudes are led by the storm, personified as a powerful screeching woman, arms outflung to destroy everything in her path. In his review of Larche's career Renoux was troubled by La Tempête wondering at the artist's audacity in trying to illustrate something as 'untranslatable' and 'elusive' as a storm. For the critic Henri Rochefort it was a masterwork and he described the work as 'Michel-angelesque'.

The Salon exhibit was purchased by the Ville de Paris for 13000 francs. A bronze version over three meters tall was exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in 1900. The present reduction is a particular fine and detailed cast.

RELATED LITERATURE
D. Renoux, 'Raoul Larche, statuaire (1860 – 1912)' in Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Français, 1990, pp. 243-76