The Bather - Mathurin Moreau (1822 - 1912)

Marble sculpture depicting a smiling woman getting ready to put her foot in the water. The pretty young woman is dressed in a light dress that shows her chest. The young woman is resting on a tree trunk so as not to lose her balance.

Artist :
The Sculpture is signed "moreau.math." from Mathurin Moreau (Dijon 1822 - Paris 1912). Mathurin was a very important and famous french sculptor of the 19th and begin 20th century. He is the first son of the well-known french painter and sculptor "Jean-Baptiste Moreau" and has two younger brothers, Hippolyte and Auguste who were also great sculptors.

Mathurin is known for his gracious and elegant female figures. He won the second "Prix de Rome" in 1842 and other several honours and awards during his life, like the gold medal at the World Exhibition in 1889 or the 'Hors Concours' at the World Exhibition in 1900.
Mathurin worked also on many public monuments and is represented in several museums like the "Musée d'Art Décoratifs" which is an important museum in Paris. At the end of his life he became Mayor of the 20th district in Paris.

The Moreau family had contracts with the major French foundries that allowed the foundries to cast a very large number of bronze sculptures. This was not the case with marble sculptures, which are much rarer.

Literature : - BENEZIT, E. Dictionnaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs. Paris: Librairie Gründ, 1961. Vol.6. p. 213.

- CATLEY, B. Art Deco and other Figures. 2nd ed. Spain : Antique Collector’s Club, 2003. p. 229.

- KJELLBERG, P. Les Bronzes du XIXe Siècle, Dictionnaire des sculpteurs. Paris : Les éditions de l'amateur, 1989. p. 511-518.

- THIEME, U. BECKER, F. Allgemeines lexicon der bildenden künstler von der antike bis zur gegenwart. Germany: E.A. Seemann. 1999. Vol. 25/26. p. 129.

Material : White Carrara marble.

Size : Height : 80 cm
Base : Round : Diameter : 26 cm

Period : Late 19th century.