The European Art Sale Part I
The European Art Sale Part I
Raoul François Larche
La Tempête et les Nuées (The Storm and Her Clouds)
Auction Closed
January 27, 04:44 PM GMT
Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Raoul François Larche
French
1860 - 1912
La Tempête et les Nuées (The Storm and Her Clouds)
signed RAOUL LARCHE, stamped with the Siot-Decauville foundry mark and numbered 582 L
bronze on a marble base
height, including base 23 7/8 in.; 60.7cm.
George F. Harding Museum, Chicago, 1939;
Bequest of George F. Harding, 1982;
Art Institute of Chicago, bequest of George F. Harding, 1982;
Deacessioned in 2014
The present work depicts the personification of a Storm as an impassioned woman. She is seen rising from the writhing clouds, staring defiantly, with her mouth open as if she is going to castigate the viewer.
When Raoul François Larche first unveiled this sculpture at the Paris Salon in 1896, it shocked audiences, who were not accustomed to seeing women portrayed with such fury. This depiction represented a departure for his own oeuvre as well, which had previously showcased the tenderness of women, as seen in his earlier piece Les Violettes.
Despite the stir it caused, the composition became a success, with the City of Paris purchasing the original cast from the Salon.
RELATED LITERATURE
Dominique Renoux, Raoul Larche, statuaire (1860 - 1912), Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Français, 1990, pp. 243-76;
Pierre Kjellberg, Bronzes of the 19th Century Dictionary of Sculptors, Pennsylvania: Schiffer, ill. p. 414.