AUGUSTIN PEENE | Madeleine au réveil (The reawakening of Magdalene)

Overall, the condition of the marble is very good, with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. There is minor veining to the marble, consistent with the material, including to the proper left thigh close to the knee, to the proper right upper leg, to the proper left breast and to the proper left arm at the armpit. There are a few naturally occurring inclusions, including to the forehead on the proper left side and an area of larger inclusions to the proper left arm around the elbow. There are a few further minor inclusions to the back. There are chips and abrasions to the bottom edge of the base.
"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."

This deeply sensuous nude is a rare reduction of what is arguably Peene's chef-d'oeuvre: Madeleine au réveil, whose life-size marble version was shown at the Paris Salon of 1893 and at the Exposition Universelle of 1900, following the exhibition of the plaster at the 1891 Salon. Bought by the French state in 1891, the marble was placed in the Tuileries Garden until 1964 and is now in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris (inv. no. RF 982). 

Born in Bergues, in northernmost France, Augustin Peene debuted at the Salon in 1880. He obtained several prizes in subsequent years, including the deuxième Prix de Rome in 1881 and a bronze medal at the Exposition universelle of 1889, until he ceased exhibiting in 1902. Among his commissions outside Paris were six statues for the façade of the town hall in Dunkirk.

RELATED LITERATURE
S. Lami, Dictionnaire des sculpteurs de l'École française, vol. 4, pp. 50-51; E. Bénézit, Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, Grund, 1999, vol. 10, p. 684