The Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea
3D
Published 2019-07-23T08:51:20+00:00
This statue was the first large sculpture that Aristide Maillol, a Dutch sculptor and painter, ever made. The work is very typical of the Maillol style, which uses large round volumes. The attitude of the figure, on the other hand, clearly refers to the classical formal language, with which he was familiar and which he would never leave. The classical ideal of harmony and inner balance is present in all his work and the pieces are smoothly polished. With these works, Maillol had a major influence on sculptors such as Georg Kolen Wilhelm Lehmbruck. Clotilde Narcisse, one of the two women who employed the artist in the tapestry he had installed in his house in 1893, was the model for this statue. Clotilde was also the model for Maillol's bronze sculpture "La nuit" from 1902. In 1905 a plaster version was exhibited at the Salon d ' Automne. A bronze specimen, cast by Rudier, was intended for the grave of Maillol but was sold to the Middelheim Museum in 1951 (after negotiations between Mayor Craeybeckx and the Maillol family). There are six examples of this work in bronze, one in stone and one in white marble. A seventh copy in bronze was made 'hors commerce' and is now on Maillol's grave in Banyuls.
| Date published | 23/07/2019 |
| Title | The Mediterranean Sea |
| Date | 1902-1905 |
| Dimension | 103 cm x 117 cm x 77 cm |
| Accession | MID.B.032 |
| Medium | Bronze |
| Credit | Purchased in 1951 |
| Record | https://search.middelheimmuseum.be/details/collect/147982 |
| Artist | Aristide Maillol |
| Place | Middelheim Museum |
