Aristide Maillol
Artistide Maillol
La Baigneuse drapée (La Seine) [The Draped Bather (The Seine)], 1921
Bronze, dark green patina
Artist’s proof
179 x 69 x 45 cm
Coll. Fundação de Serralves — Museu de Arte Contemporânea, Porto. Donated in memory of Mrs Georgina Illing
Artistide Maillol (Banyuls-sur-Mer, France, 1861–1944 ) is known for his classically inspired sculptures of female nudes.
La Baigneuse drapée (La Seine) is an example of the works for which Maillol is most well known, the image of a bather representing the ideal of Mediterranean beauty. The date of the sculpture is contemporary with the Serralves Villa, and Maillol was acquainted and collaborated with Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann (1879−1933), the French architect and decorator who had a decisive role in the architectural and decorative programme of the Villa, although it is unknown whether Maillol himself knew of Serralves.
This work was donated to the Serralves Foundation in 2011 by Robert Illing, former consul of the United States of America in Porto as a homage to his wife, Georgina Illing, who was a great enthusiast of the arts and the Serralves project.
« return
