Joseph-Antoine Bernard (1866-1931) - Lot 125

Lot 125
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Result : 9 500EUR
Joseph-Antoine Bernard (1866-1931) - Lot 125
Joseph-Antoine Bernard (1866-1931) Nude dancer Bronze with brown patina Signed " J Bernard ". Bears the founder's stamp " CIRE PERDUE A.A. HEBRARD " numbered " (4) H. 33,7 cm This graceful female figure, on tiptoe, back arched, left arm elegantly raised, synthesizes all of Joseph Bernard's very personal style taking its source in the ode to the female body in movement, freed from academic canons. While Joseph Bernard explored intensely the theme of dance before the First World War, he liked to work on the association of small figures in groups, playing on the plurality of gestures and the unity of the group. Our small figure with its long silhouette corresponds to the model created in 1905 which he used three times, declining three consecutive movements, to create the three dancers of his famous group entitled Dance of the Roses. Like this group, the isolated figure was published by the famous art dealer and collector, Adrien-Aurélien Hébrard, who contracted with the artist in 1908 to handle the marketing of a set of small sculptures. While the first bronze of La Danse des Roses was presented at the Salon d'Automne in 1912, it seems that the casting of the isolated figure was envisaged later, in 1914. The number of copies made by Hébrard is unknown, but the author of the 1989 catalog raisonné indicated that "to his knowledge" there were at least three proofs. Our copy is number 4. Related literature: René Jullian, Joseph Bernard, Saint-Rémy-les- Chevreuses, Ed. Fondation de Coubertin, 1989, cat. n_ 76, p. 281.
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