Daphne, The Beautiful Nymph - Isidore De Rudder (1855 - 1943)

Signed « Is De Rudder » which stands for Isidore De Rudder and « H Luppens & Cie Editeurs » for the family-run foundry « H. Luppens » from Brussels, this bronzes d’art represents the nymph Daphne. Made of patinated bronze, this sculpture from the Art-Nouveau period is a unique work of art by the artist.

In Greek mythology, or more specifically in the Metamorphoses of Ovid : In revenge of Apollo, who had mocked him, Cupid, god of Love, simultaneously unleashes two arrows, one in gold, one in lead. The gold arrow hits Apollo, making him fall madly in love with the beautiful Daphne. The other, in lead, hits the nymph, which inspires a disgust of Apollo. As Apollo pursues her, she, exhausted, asks her father, the river god Penea, to help her : he transforms his daughter into a tree. Apollo, who is still in love with her, makes her his tree, and dedicates it to triumphs, songs and poems. The artist has chosen to represent this allegory in the form of a lamp, converting electricity into light.

Isidore De Rudder (1855 - 1943)

Isidore De Rudder was born in Brussels in 1855 into an artistic family. His
father, Isidore Jean, was a painter of genre scenes and a decorative sculptor with a workshop in Brussels. From 1869 to 1880, Isidore was enrolled at the Brussels Academy.
He exhibited his first sculpture « Tête d’Enfant » at the Ghent Salon in 1880. He then exhibited in the 1881 Salon with « Feue Madame L. » and in the Union des Arts circle in 1882 with « Le Petit Pêcheur ». That same year, he finished 2nd at the Prix de Rome, which allowed him to travel to various European countries such as Germany, England, and France.

De Rudder participated in many other exhibitions:
? Union des Arts in 1883
? Antwerp and Brussels 1883 Exhibition with « The Truth and the Nest » (now in the Antwerp Museum).
? Brussels 1893 Exhibition with « Man with Swans ».
? Antwerp World Fair in 1894.

Isidore De Rudder created various works included in building facades and won various competitions for monuments:
? « Allegory of Tragedy » in 1887 for the façade of the Flemish Theatre in Brussels.
? « Jan van Coudenberghe » in 1888 for the Brussels City Hall.
? «Art » in 1904 for the Maison Communale de Saint-Gilles.
? The « Rogier Funeral Monument » at the Saint-Josse-ten-Noode cemetery in 1888.
? The « Stork and Fish » fountain for the Brussels Botanical Garden in 1894.
? The « monument for J.F. Willems » in Ghent in 1899.
? Monument « Recognition of Belgium to France » at the Place de l’Alma in Paris in 1923.
? The « War Memorial » at the Ixelles cemetery in 1923.

De Rudder was a professor at the Brussels Academy from 1911 to 1915 and from 1919 to 1925.

He made his name with the marble sculpture « The Nest », which is currently exhibited in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp and his plaster sculpture of « L’Education morale » is on display at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels. Isidore De Rudder was a very versatile and gifted artist.

Besides plaster, bronze and marble, he also worked in silver (at Wolfers), ivory, porcelain, ceramics (at Boch), sandstone (at Guérin), tin and ivory. Throughout his career, he sculpted genre scenes, portraits and busts in the Art-Nouveau and later Art-Deco style.