AIMÉ-JULES DALOU | CENTAURE ENLEVANT UNE FEMME (CENTAUR ABDUCTING A WOMAN)

Formerly private collection, France

The present bronze is a cast of the plaster sketch of Centaure enlevant une femme, which Dalou executed in marble in 1899, commissioned by the artist Paul Gervais. The current location of the marble, measuring 80cm., is unknown. After Dalou's death in 1902, his heirs allowed bronze casts to be made of many of his plaster sketches, mostly cast by the Hébrard foundry. The contract for 10 casts of the Centaure was negotiated in January 1907, which gives an approximate dating for the present cast.

As Dalou was particularly known for his intimate portrayals of women bathing or during domestic tasks, mythological subjects by the sculptor are more rare. Modelling the present group would have allowed him the opportunity to experiment with more audacious poses and varied surface textures. The group, depicting an action frozen au moment suprême, shows a dramatic tension which is not often present in Dalou's works.

RELATED LITERATURE

A. Simier and M. Kisiel, Jules Dalou, le sculpteur de la République. Catalogue des sculptures de Jules Dalou conserves au Petit Palais, cat. Petit Palais, Paris, 2013, nos. 336 and 337