Affortunato Gory ( between 1895 and 1925) - Salomé, ca. 1910

Marble sculpture: 95 cm (height)
Signed on the base

Affortunato GORY is an artist of Italian origin who arrived in Paris to continue his training and was exhibited at the Salon until the beginning of the First World War. He is known for his various sculptures representing mainly women. He is also known for his various compositions in marble, gilded and patinated bronze, and ivory, and especially for his chryselephantine sculptures.
Here, the artist represents Salome, a Jewish princess from the beginning of the first millennium, who asked her father-in-law Herod Antipas for the head of Saint John the Baptist. The story was taken up by several painters, such as Pierre BONNAUD with his famous Salome painted around 1900, but also by writers such as Victor HUGO or Oscar WILDE.
Here, Affortunato GORY is inspired by the famous dancer Maud Allan (fig.6), who played the first role of Salome at the Opera.