Lot 42
  • 42

Aimé-Jules Dalou

Estimate
15,000 - 25,000 GBP
bidding is closed

Description

  • Aimé-Jules Dalou
  • Paysanne française allaitant son enfant (French mother feeding her child)
  • signed: DALOU
  • terracotta, on an ebonised wood base

Provenance

Sotheby's London, 21 November 1995, lot 107

Condition

Overall the condition of the terracotta is very good, with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age, including some dust and darkening in the crevices. There are a few minor stable hairline fissures consistent with the firing process, including to the woman's proper right knee and her proper right foot. There appears to be an area of restoration around the woman's proper left sleeve. There are a few very minor abrasions, including to the woman's proper right elbow. The terracotta slides slightly on the wood base. There is minor wear to the base, including a few nicks.
"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."

Catalogue Note

The original life-size terracotta of the Paysanne was made in 1873 for Sir Lionel Coutts Lindsay and exhibited at the Salon in that year (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, inv. no. A.8-1993). Dreyfous' 1903 biography of Dalou observes that the composition is based on a mythological group of Juno suckling the Infant Hercules, however, the essence of the group is its innovative realism. The original plaster is now in the Petit Palais, Paris (inv. no. PPS00352).

RELATED LITERATURE
A. Simier, Jules Dalou, le sculpteur de la Republique. Catalogue des sculptures de Jules Dalou conservées au Petit Palais, exh. cat. Petit Palais, Paris, 2013, pp. 354-355, no. 285