Aristide Maillol (1861-1944)
Aristide Maillol (1861-1944)
Aristide Maillol (1861-1944)
Aristide Maillol (1861-1944)
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Specifed lots (sold and unsold) marked with a fill… Read more THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE EUROPEAN COLLECTOR
Aristide Maillol (1861-1944)

La douleur

Details
Aristide Maillol (1861-1944)
La douleur
signed with the monogram (on top of the plinth); numbered '3 / 6' (on the back of the plinth); stamped with the foundry mark 'C. VALSUANI CIRE PERDUE' (on the back of the base)
bronze with green patina
Height: 61 in. (155 cm.)
Width: 27 ½ in. (70 cm.)
Depth: 42 1/8 in. (107 cm.)
Conceived in 1920-1921; this bronze version cast in June 1967
Provenance
Dina Vierny, by 1979.
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1980.
Literature
C. Zervos, 'Aristide Maillol', in L'Art d'Aujourd'hui, 1925 (another cast illustrated pl. XL).
J. Cladel, Maillol, sa vie, son œuvre, ses idées, Paris, 1937, p. 118 (another cast illustrated p. 37).
J. Rewald, Maillol, Paris, 1939, p. 165 (plaster version illustrated pl. 47).
R. Linnenkamp, Maillol. Die grossen Plastiken, Munich, 1960, pp. 14-35.
G. Bresc-Bautier, A. Pingeot & A. Le Normand-Romain, Sculptures des jardins du Louvre, du Caroussel et des Tuileries, Paris, 1986, no. 245 (another cast illustrated p. 293).
B. Lorquin, Aristide Maillol, London, 1995, p. 84 (another cast illustrated p. 85).
R. Franke, 'Figuren von klassichem Ebenmaß', in Berliner Morgenpost, 14 January 1996 (illustrated).
C. Herchenröder, 'Deutschem Geschmack verbunden', in Handelsblatt, 19-20 January 1996 (illustrated).
K. Hansel, 'Klassisch-moderne Plastiken', in Brandenburgisches Sonntagsblatt, 25 February 1996 (illustrated).
Exhibited
Baden-Baden, Staatliche Kunsthalle, Maillol, June - September 1978, no. 59 (illustrated).
Perpignan, Palais des Rois de Majorque, Maillol au Palais des Rois de Majorque, 1979, no. 77, p. 194 (illustrated p. 118).
Stuttgart, Galerie Valentien, Aristide Maillol, Bronzeskulpturen, July - September 1980, p. 23 (illustrated p. 24).
Berlin, Georg-Kolbe-Museum, Aristide Maillol, January - May 1996, no. 76, p. 213 (illustrated); this exhibition later travelled to Lausanne, Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, May - September 1996; Bremen, Gerhard Marcks-Haus, October 1996 - January 1997; and Mannheim, Städtische Kunsthalle, January - March 1997.
Special notice
Specifed lots (sold and unsold) marked with a filled square ( ¦ ) not collected from Christie’s, 8 King Street, London SW1Y 6QT by 5.00 pm on the day of the sale will, at our option, be removed to Crown Fine Art (details below). Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent ofsite. If the lot is transferred to Crown Fine Art, it will be available for collection from 12.00 pm on the second business day following the sale. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Crown Fine Art. All collections from Crown Fine Art will be by prebooked appointment only.

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Ottavia Marchitelli
Ottavia Marchitelli

Lot Essay

Olivier Lorquin has confirmed the authenticity of this work.
La douleur was commissioned from Aristide Maillol by the Municipality of Céret in 1920 to commemorate its citizens who had perished in the First World War. By the time of this commission, Maillol was widely considered France's greatest sculptor and this was reflected in the numerous public commissions he received. Viewed by contemporary observers as diametrically opposed to the dramatic and expressive characteristic of the work of Auguste Rodin, Maillol's sculptures were, instead, seen to embody an innate classicism and timelessness. This is encapsulated in La douleur's compositional equilibrium, simplicity and sense of quiet dignity. Notwithstanding their differences of approach, Rodin greatly admired Maillol's sculptures. 'Maillol', Rodin is said to have declared, 'is one of the world's greatest sculptors ... His taste is impeccable and he reveals a great knowledge of life in simplicity ... the most admirable thing about Maillol, the eternal aspect, if I may express it thus, is his purity, his clarity, the limpid character of his craft and of his thought' (Rodin quoted in W. George, Aristide Maillol, London, 1965, p. 213).
Maillol himself said that two of Michelangelo's figures, Night of the Medici Tombs and the Virgin, provided the inspiration for the present work (A. Maillol, exh. cat., Buffalo, 1945, p. 21). The twisting, muscular forms of Michelangelo's Night however, contrast with La douleur's restrained composition, its elegant folds of drapery more reminiscent of a classical Greek Grave stele (see ibid.). Transcending these possible inspirations, the present sculpture remains true to Maillol's unique style, capable of expressing emotion through the purity of his classically-influenced lines.

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