A delightful Art Nouveau early 20th Century gilt bronze figure of a very beautiful naked lady, the surface of the bronze exhibiting excellent detail and finish. Raised on a shaped onyx base, titled to the fore, signed Antonin Carles, inscribed Siot Fonduer Pairs and numbered
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Height: 31 cm
Condition: Excellent condition
Circa: 1900
Foundry: Siot Decauville
Materials: Gilt Bronze
Book Ref: Bronzes of the 19th Century by Pierre Kjellberg
Page No: 172
SKU: 8342
ABOUT
Jean-Antonin Carles (1851-1919) was a French sculptor. Born in Gimont, Carlès began his studies in Marseille and then successively to the École des Beaux-Arts de Toulouse and that of Paris. He was a pupil of François Jouffroy and Ernest-Eugène Hiolle, he won the Grand Prix de l'Exposition Universelle in 1889.
Art Nouveau Bronze
Art Nouveau was a movement that swept through the decorative arts and architecture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Generating enthusiasts throughout Europe and beyond, the movement issued in a wide variety of styles, and, consequently, it is known by various names, such as the Glasgow Style, or, in the German-speaking world, Jugendstil. Art Nouveau was aimed at modernizing design, seeking to escape the eclectic historical styles that had previously been popular. Artists drew inspiration from both organic and geometric forms, evolving elegant designs that united flowing, natural forms with more angular contours. The movement was committed to abolishing the traditional hierarchy of the arts, which viewed so-called liberal arts, such as painting and sculpture, as superior to craft-based decorative arts, and ultimately it had far more influence on the latter. The style went out of fashion after it gave way to Art Deco in the 1920s, but it experienced a popular revival in the 1960s, and it is now seen as an important predecessor of Modernism.
The desire to abandon the historical styles of the 19th century was an important impetus behind Art Nouveau and one that establishes the movement’s modernism. Industrial production was, at that point, widespread, and yet the decorative arts were increasingly dominated by poorly made objects imitating earlier periods. The practitioners of Art Nouveau sought to revive good workmanship, raise the status of craft, and produce genuinely modern design.
