Aristide Maillol (1861-1944) - Lot 26

Aristide Maillol (1861-1944) Femme assise - Baigneuse Renoir, 1903 (or earlier) Bronze proof with brown-black patina Florentin Godard sand casting, without founder's mark Monogrammed on the base at the back 23.5 x 9 x 12.5 cm Provenance : United States, private collection A certificate from Ursel Berger will be provided on request. We would like to thank Mr. Lorquin for confirming that this bronze was probably sand-cast by Florentin Godard. The famous portrait of Ambroise Vollard painted by Renoir in 1908 clearly shows Maillol's clay sculpture, which the dealer was examining closely at the time. Renoir owned a copy of this statuette, which is probably why the Seated Woman is given the second title of Renoir Bather. Count Kessler also owned a copy, acquired from Ambroise Vollard in 1903. The model is quite rare. Three other examples have been identified in public collections: ◆ Ludwig Museum, Cologne ◆ San Francisco (Young Legion of Honor, former Sadrie Adriani collection) ◆ Musée des beaux-arts Montreal, Canada Related literature : Berger, Ursel, Lebon, Élisabeth, Maillol (re)découvert, Gourcuff Gradenigo, galerie Malaquais Figurative Arts Ltd, Paris, 2021. (Cat. no. 17, p. 106) In 1902, Ambroise Vollard organized Maillol's first monographic exhibition in his gallery. Building on the success of this first exhibition, Vollard signed a contract with Maillol to publish 10 of his sculptures. A second contract followed in 1905 for 7 more. From 1907, on Maillol's recommendation, Vollard entrusted the production of the bronzes to the Florentin Godard foundryman, who became Vollard's exclusive foundryman from 1909, for whom he also cast works by Bonnard and Guino-Renoir. When, in 1909, collector Ivan Morozov commissioned Maillol to cast four large statues (Flore, Pomone, Le Printemps et l'Été) for his music salon, it was quite naturally Florentin Godard who was asked to cast them. The quality of his work soon attracted Laurens, Poupelet, Brancusi, Pompon, Picasso and art dealer Daniel-Henri Kahnweiler.