René LETOURNEUR (1898-1990) - Lot 105

René LETOURNEUR (1898-1990) Reclining nude 1980 Pentelic marble Signed (on the edge of the back terrace) : LETOURNEUR 45 x 75 x 27 cm With base: 104 x 103.5 x 52.5 cm Some old restorations on the terrace With Nu allongé, René Letourneur revisits the theme of the extended figure as conceived for La Seine in 1962 (see cat. no. 88). He gives his female nude more compact, light-trapping volumes. The sculptor explored the possibilities of the reclining woman motif as early as the Femme-enfant of 1936 (cat. no. 28), to which he gave great dynamism, and continued his research on this theme until the very end of his life, with the Nu couché of 1988 (cat. no. 36), for which he concentrated on simplifying the planes and achieving a certain stylization. Natural light plays wonderfully on the volumes of the Reclining Nude, thanks to the intrinsic qualities of the pentelic marble chosen by the sculptor, combined with his technical work on the material. Bibliography : 2009 EXHIBITION, p. 172-173, no. 157, repr.