Aimé-Jules Dalou (1838 – 1902), Bowman Sculpture, 6 Duke Street St James’s, London, SW1, until 31st January 2015
Grand Paysan / Large Peasant
Aimé-Jules Dalou
(French, 1838-1902)
Signed DALOU (sclp)
Inscribed Susse Fres Edts Paris and cire perdue
Inset with Susse Fres Editeurs/Paris foundry pastille
Bronze with a dark brown and green patination
Height: 31 1/4 inches (79 cm)
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Until the exhibition at Paris’s Petit Palais a couple of years ago this leading late 19th century French sculptor was rather under-exposed to public attention even though his works can be seen around the French capital. His work can be said to rival that of his contemporary Rodin.
This current show amply reveals his skill as a modeller and why his domestic scale models are the ones most eagerly collected today, even though many were never cast in bronze in his lifetime.
Desespoir / Despair
Aimé-Jules Dalou
(French, 1838-1902)
Signed Dalou and inscribed Cire Perdue Susse Frs Edrs Paris
Bronze with a dark brown, green and and red/brown patination
Height: 8 inches (20.3 cm)
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In 1871, after the fall of the Paris Commune, Dalou fled to England and spent the rest of the decade here. It was a successful time with him exhibiting at the Royal Academy and gaining many patrons, including a Royal one. His teaching in London resulted in a move away from the stiffer neo-classic forms that were then the backbone of English sculpture to what was called “New Sculpture”. Lord Leighton credited Dalou as the influence for his Athlete Struggling with a Python which is considered to be the first example of “New Sculpture”.
La Sagesse Soutenant La Liberte / Wisdom Supporting Freedom
Aimé-Jules Dalou
(French, 1838-1902)
Signed: Dalou and dated 1889
This model cast in an edition of 10.
Numbered 5
Stamped AA Hébrard Cire Perdue
Bronze with a rich dark brown patination on a green marble plynth
Height: 20 inches ( 51 cm)
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On his return to Paris he concentrated on large-scale works and public monuments although his staunch republicanism sometimes governed which projects he would undertake.
Tim Forrest's E & A 