Bonhams
Lot 198
Aimé-Jules Dalou, (French, 1838-1902): A bronze figure of 'Baigneuse Avant Le Bain (Bather before the bath)'posthumously cast by the Susse Frères foundryon naturalistic canted rectangular base, signed DALOU Scp and inscribed with foundry mark Susse Frères, Paris, Cire Perdue, brown patination, 14.5cm high approximatelyFootnotes:Recognised today as one of the premier sculptors of 19th century France, Aimé-Jules Dalou was admired for his perceptiveness, free execution, and unpretentious realism and was in his day revered in exactly the same manner as his friend and contemporary Rodin would subsequently be to later generations.Dalou's talent was initially recognised by the French sculptor Jean Baptiste Carpeaux who persuaded his parents to allow him to study sculpture at the Petite Ecole and the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Although the sculptor exhibited at the Paris Salon as early as 1861 he was refused the prestigious Prix de Rome which would have done much to further his career due to his political leanings and his opposition to the government during the Second Empire period. However, his sculpture of 'Daphinis and Chloe' was subsequently purchased by the State after it was shown at the Salon in 1869 and he also won worldwide acclaim with his life-size plaster figure of the 'Embroiderer' at the Salon in 1870 both of which exemplify his interest in the female form.As a result of being a supporter of the Paris Commune whilst curator of the Musee du Louvre under Gustave Courbet, he was forced into a period of self-imposed exile from France in 1871 and made his home in London where he was convicted in his absence by the French Government for his involvement with the Commune and given a life sentence although he was eventually pardoned eight years later.Like his contemporary Edgar Degas, Dalou was fascinated with the subject of the female nude and its commercial potential. As such he used his time in London to work and re-work a series of small models depicting idealised female figure in stages of undress before and after bathing. These figures retain a sensitive personal connection between the sculptor and the sitter usually with specific personalised facial features which is perhaps not surprising considering that his favourite model was also his wife, Irma Vuillier.The bather in the present lot is depicted preparing to enter the water, apparently slightly shuddering as she looks down into the stream below. This model also has an added poignancy as the plaster original which was executed by Dalou in 1899 depicts his wife a year before her death. The shock of her tragic loss was also an undoubted contributing factor to the sculptor's own demise eighteen months later.The original model was purchased from Dalou's daughter Georgette in 1905 and is now in the permanent collection of the Musée du Petit-Palais. A marble version is also thought to have been commissioned in 1899 but its whereabouts are now unknown.No commercial bronze editions of his works were apparently produced during Dalou's lifetime as these were discouraged by the sculptor. As such edition casts were not produced until the period post the sculptors death in 1902, when the executors of the sculptor allowed a number of Dalou's works to be cast in limited editions by the A. A. Hébrard foundry. Later, models were made in larger numbers and in a variety of edition sizes by the Susse Frères foundry.Related Literature:A. Simier, Jules Dalou. Le sculpteur de la République, exh. cat., Petit Palais - Musées des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, Paris, 2013, pp. 388-389, no. 315J. Hunisak, The sculptor Jules Dalou: studies in his style and imagery, New York, 1977, pp. 119-120, fig. 69For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
