Mathurin Moreau

Born in Dijon as the eldest son of a distinguished and prolific family of artists, Moreau studied under his father, Jean-Baptiste, before entering the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Etienne-Jules Ramey and Alexandre Dumont. He gained a first class medal at the Salon of 1859 for The Spinning Girl and was made a Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur in 1865.

This serene marble of a nymph by a stream epitomises the natural elegance and sentimental subject matter for which Moreau was famous. Interestingly, the composition was also adapted as a figure of the goddess Diana, with the addition of a crescent moon and a hunting dog, of which versions were cast in bronze.