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Reclining nude
Aristide Joseph Bonaventure Maillol (French, 1861–1944)
French
20th century
about 1912
Object Place: Europe, France
Medium/Technique
Metal; bronze
Dimensions
31.75 cm (12 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Fiske Warren and Edward Perry Warren, by exchange
Accession Number53.944
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsSculpture
These three bronze statuettes illustrate in miniature Aristide Maillol’s artistic ambitions and concerns. Over the course of a long career, Maillol concentrated almost exclusively on the theme of the female nude-kneeling, reclining, or standing. Maillol sought the general rather than the particular, the smooth over the rough, and the simple over the complex, striving for a timeless, ideal vision of the female form as an expression of pure beauty.
DescriptionReclining figure, right elbow and left foot on projection of base; left arm sharply bent to shoulder. First study for the Cezanne Monument.
InscriptionsAlexis Rudier Fondeur. Paris at end of base. A MAILLOL on base.
ProvenanceBy 1953, Curt Valentin Gallery, New York; 1953, acquired from Valentin by the MFA by exchange. (Accession date: May 14, 1953)