Aristide Joseph Bonaventure Maillol (; December 8, 1861 – September 27, 1944) was a French sculptor, painter, and

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed technique ...

.Le Normand-Romain, Antoinette . "Maillol, Aristide". ''Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online''. Oxford University Press. Web. He began his career as a painter and developed an early interest in the decorative arts. He became primarily interested in sculpture from his early 40s. Maillol was one of the most famous sculptors of his time. His work inspired artists such as

Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

and

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental Bronze sculpture, bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. Moore ...

Biography

Maillol was born in

Banyuls-sur-Mer Banyuls-sur-Mer (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales Departments of France, department in southern France. Geography Location Banyuls-sur-Mer is located in the canton of La Côte Vermeille and in the arrondissemen ...

, Roussillon. He decided at an early age to become a painter, and moved to Paris in 1881 to study art. After several applications and several years of living in poverty, his enrollment in the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

was accepted in 1885, and he studied there under

Jean-Léon Gérôme Jean-Léon Gérôme (; 11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academic painting, academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living art ...

and

Alexandre Cabanel Alexandre Cabanel (; 28 September 1823 – 23 January 1889) was a French Painting, painter. He painted historical, classical and religious subjects in the Academic art, academic style. He was also well known as a portrait painter. He was Napoleon ...

. His early paintings show the influence of his contemporaries

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (; 14 December 1824 – 24 October 1898) was a French painter known for his mural painting, who came to be known as "the painter for France". He became the co-founder and president of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Ar ...

and

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

. Gauguin encouraged his growing interest in decorative art, an interest that led Maillol to take up

tapestry Tapestry is a form of Textile arts, textile art which was traditionally Weaving, woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical piece ...

design. In 1893 Maillol opened a tapestry workshop in Banyuls, producing works whose high technical and aesthetic quality gained him recognition for renewing this art form in France. He began making small

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

sculptures in 1895, and within a few years his concentration on sculpture led to the abandonment of his work in tapestry. In July 1896, Maillol married Clotilde Narcis, one of his employees at his tapestry workshop. Their only son, Lucian, was born that October. Maillol's first major sculpture, ''A Seated Woman'', was modeled after his wife. The first version (in the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

, New York) was completed in 1902, and renamed ''La Méditerranée''. Maillol, believing that "art does not lie in the copying of nature", produced a second, less naturalistic version in 1905. In 1902, the art dealer

Ambroise Vollard Ambroise Vollard (; 3 July 1866 – 21 July 1939) was a French art dealer who is regarded as one of the most important dealers in French contemporary art at the beginning of the twentieth century. He is credited with being a major supporter an ...

provided Maillol with his first exhibition. KMM Maillol

The subject of nearly all of Maillol's mature work is the female body, treated with a classical emphasis on stable forms. The figurative style of his large bronzes is perceived as an important precursor to the greater simplifications of

, and his serene classicism set a standard for European (and American) figure sculpture until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Josep Pla Josep Pla i Casadevall (; 8 March 1897 – 23 April 1981) was a Spanish journalist and a popular author. As a journalist he worked in France, Italy, Britain, Germany, and the Soviet Union, from where he wrote political and cultural chronicles i ...

said of Maillol, "These archaic ideas, Greek, were the great novelty Maillol brought into the tendency of modern sculpture. What you need to love from the ancients is not the antiquity, it is the sense of permanent, renewed novelty, that is due to the nature and reason." His important public commissions include a 1912 commission for a monument to Cézanne, as well as numerous war memorials commissioned after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Maillol served as a juror with

Florence Meyer Blumenthal Florence Meyer Blumenthal (1875 – 1930) was an American philanthropist who founded the ''Fondation franco-américaine Florence Blumenthal (Franco-American Florence Blumenthal Foundation),'' which awarded the Prix Blumenthal from 1919-1954 to pa ...

in awarding the

Prix Blumenthal The Prix Blumenthal (or ''Blumenthal Prize'') was a grant or stipend awarded through the philanthropy of Florence Meyer Blumenthal (1875–1930) – and the foundation she created, ''Fondation franco-américaine Florence Blumenthal (Franco-Am ...

(1919–1954) a grant awarded to painters, sculptors, decorators, engravers, writers, and musicians. He made a series of

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

illustrations for an edition of

Vergil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: the ''Eclogues'' ...

's ''

Eclogues The ''Eclogues'' (; , ), also called the ''Bucolics'', is the first of the three major works of the Latin poet Virgil. Background Taking as his generic model the Greek bucolic poetry of Theocritus, Virgil created a Roman version partly by o ...

'' published by

Harry Graf Kessler Count Harry Clemens Ulrich von Kessler (''Harry Clemens Ulrich Graf von Kessler'' in German; 23 May 1868 – 30 November 1937), also known as Harry Graf Kessler, was an Anglo-German diplomat, writer, and patron of modern art. English translat ...

in 1926–27. He also illustrated ''

Daphnis and Chloe ''Daphnis and Chloe'' (, ''Daphnis kai Chloē'') is a Greek pastoral novel written during the Roman Empire, the only known work of second-century Hellenistic romance writer Longus. Setting and style It is set on the Greek isle of Lesbos, whe ...

'' by

Longus Longus, sometimes Longos (), was the author of an ancient Greek novel or romance, '' Daphnis and Chloe''. Nothing is known of his life; it is assumed that he lived on the isle of Lesbos (setting for ''Daphnis and Chloe'') during the 2nd centu ...

(1937) and ''Chansons pour elle'' by

Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine ( ; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolism (movement), Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the ''fin de siècle'' ...

(1939). He died in Banyuls at the age of eighty-two, in an automobile accident. While driving home during a thunderstorm, the car in which he was a passenger skidded off the road and rolled over. A large collection of Maillol's work is maintained at the

Musée Maillol The Musée Maillol is an art museum located in the 7th arrondissement at 59–61, rue de Grenelle, Paris, France. History In 1964, Dina Vierny donated Maillol's monumental sculptures to the state. André Malraux, Minister of Culture, installs t ...

in Paris, which was established by

Dina Vierny Dina Vierny (25 January 1919 – 20 January 2009) was a French Model (art), artists' model who became a singer, art dealer, Collection (museum), collector and Curator, museum director. She is known as the model and muse to French sculptor Aristi ...

, Maillol's model and platonic companion during the last 10 years of his life. His home a few kilometers outside Banyuls, also the site of his final resting place, has been turned into a museum, the

Musée Maillol Banyuls-sur-Mer The Musée Maillol de Banyuls-sur-Mer is a private museum at the farm of the sculptor Aristide Maillol where he spent the last years of his life. The farm, "La Métairie", is situated in the Roume valley 4 km from the city center of Banyuls- ...

, where a number of his works and sketches are displayed. Three of his bronzes grace the grand staircase of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City: ''Summer'' (1910–11), ''Venus Without Arms'' (1920), and'' Kneeling Woman: Monument to Debussy'' (1950–55). The third, the artist's only reference to music, is a copy of an original created for the French city of

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. ...

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

's birthplace.

Nazi-looted art

During the

German occupation of France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

, dozens of artworks by Maillol were seized by the Nazi looting organization known as the E.R.R. or

Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce The Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce ( or ''ERR'') was a Nazi Party organization dedicated to appropriating cultural property during the Second World War. It was led by the chief ideologue of the Nazi Party, Alfred Rosenberg, from within the NSD ...

. The Database of Art Objects at the Jeu de Paume lists thirty artworks by Maillol. The German Lost Art Foundation database lists 33 entries for Maillol. The

German Historical Museum The German Historical Museum (), known by the acronym DHM, is a museum in Berlin, Germany devoted to German history. It describes itself as a place of "enlightenment and understanding of the shared history of Germans and Europeans". It is ofte ...

's database for artworks recovered by the Allies at the

Munich Central Collecting Point The Munich Central Collecting Point was a depot used by the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program after the end of the Second World War to process, photograph and redistribute artwork and cultural artifacts that had been confiscated by the Na ...

has 13 items related to Maillol. Maillol's sculpture "Head of Flora" was found in the stash of Cornelius Gurlitt, son of Hitler's art dealer

Hildebrand Gurlitt Hildebrand Gurlitt (15 September 1895 – 9 November 1956) was a German art historian and art gallery director who dealt in Nazi-looted art as one of Hitler's and Goering's four authorized dealers for " degenerate art". A Nazi-associated art dea ...

together with lithographs, drawings and paintings. A photograph from May 24, 1946, shows "Six men, members of the Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives section of the military, prepare Aristide Maillol's sculpture ''Baigneuse à la draperie'', looted during World War II for transport to France. Sculpture is labeled with sign: Wiesbaden, no. 31." Jewish art collectors whose artworks by Maillol were looted by Nazis include Hugo Simon,

Alfred Flechtheim Alfred Flechtheim (1 April 1878 – 9 March 1937) was a German Jewish art dealer, art collector, journalist and publisher persecuted by the Nazis. Early years Flechtheim was born into a Jewish merchant family; his father, Emil Flechtheim, was a ...

and many others.

Works

* Mme Henry Clemens van de Velde (c. 1899) * ''The Mediterranean (1902–05)'' * '' Action in Chains'' (1905) * '' Flora, Nude'' (1910) * '' L'Été sans bras'' (1911) *'' Bathing Woman with Raised Arms'' (1921) * ''

Nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

'' (1930) * ''

The Mountain The Mountain () was a political group during the French Revolution. Its members, called the Montagnards (), sat on the highest benches in the National Convention. The term, first used during a session of the Legislative Assembly, came into ge ...

'' (1937) * '' L'Air'' (1938) * '' The River'' (1938–43) * ''Harmonie'' (1944) * ''Femme à l’Echarpe'' (circa 1919–20, cast in bronze in edition of 6; certificate of authenticity from model Dina Vierny dated 29.10.1970)

Legacy and Contemporary Influence

Aristide Maillol's work has had a profound and enduring impact on both

modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

and

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

, particularly within the realms of sculpture, the

representation Representation may refer to: Law and politics *Representation (politics), political activities undertaken by elected representatives, as well as other theories ** Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a ...

of the human body, and the revival of classical forms in the 20th century. His restrained, monumental approach to the female figure influenced numerous artists, sparking discussions about form, abstraction, and the essence of sculpture itself. One of Maillol's most significant contributions was his rejection of the exaggerated dynamism that characterized much of late 19th-century sculpture, notably the work of his contemporary,

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

. Maillol's figures, with their serene and stable forms, marked a return to classical simplicity and purity. This approach resonated with artists like

, who cited Maillol as an early influence on his own move toward abstraction and monumentality. Moore admired the way Maillol's work avoided excessive detail, allowing the essential form of the human body to take precedence. In his 1941 writings, Moore stated, "Maillol's influence was important to me because of the calm and permanence that his figures suggest, as well as his return to classical balance and volume." Additionally,

Hans Arp Hans Peter Wilhelm Arp (; ; 16 September 1886 – 7 June 1966), better known as Jean Arp in English, was a German-French sculptor, painter and poet. He was known as a Dadaist and an abstract artist. Early life Arp was born Hans Peter Wilhelm Ar ...

, a

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...

ist and

Surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

artist, found inspiration in Maillol's organic forms, which he believed offered a "timeless universality." Arp's abstracted, rounded sculptures share a kinship with Maillol's pursuit of essential, elemental forms, though Arp pushed these ideas further into abstraction.

Art historians The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetics ...

such as

Hilton Kramer Hilton Kramer (March 25, 1928 – March 27, 2012) was an American art critic and essayist. Biography Early life Kramer was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts into a Jewish immigrant family, and was educated at Syracuse University, receiving a b ...

and

Albert Elsen Albert Edward Elsen, Jr. (October 11, 1927 – February 2, 1995) was an American art historian and educator. A scholar of the work of Auguste Rodin, Elsen was the Walter A. Haas Professor in the Humanities at Stanford University. Career Born in ...

have extensively discussed Maillol's unique place in modern sculpture. Kramer remarked that Maillol's works possess an "elemental calm" and reflect an anti-Romantic sentiment, contrasting sharply with the emotional intensity of

Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

. Elsen, in his study of Maillol's work, argued that his influence can be seen in the development of

modernist sculpture Modern sculpture is generally considered to have begun with the work of Auguste Rodin, who is seen as the progenitor of modern sculpture. While Rodin did not set out to rebel against the past, he created a new way of building his works. He "dissol ...

, particularly through his focus on the essential harmony of form and space, a concept that paved the way for mid-century minimalism.Albert Elsen, *The Sculpture of Henri Matisse*, Princeton University Press, 1972, p. 102. In more recent decades, Maillol's sculptures have continued to inspire

contemporary artists This is a list of artists who create contemporary art, i.e., those whose peak of activity can be situated somewhere between the 1970s (the advent of postmodernism) and the present day. Artists on this list meet the following criteria: *The person ...

exploring themes of memory, identity, and the body. The French-Lebanese contemporary artist Oliver Aoun incorporated Maillol's sculptures into his project ''Lisa Rediviva'' (2012), which juxtaposes classical representations of the female form with fragmented images of the

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...

. Aoun's work engaged with the legacy of Western iconography, questioning the colonial and

patriarchal Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term ''patriarchy'' is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in fem ...

structures embedded within these revered forms. In reinterpreting Maillol's figures, Oliver Aoun critiqued the traditional Western gaze and proposed a more inclusive dialogue around the representation of women in art.Oliver Aoun, "Lisa Rediviva", 2012. Personal project description. Furthermore, exhibitions such as the 2011 show at the

in Paris, which focused on the dialogue between Maillol and contemporary sculptors, underscore the relevance of his oeuvre in ongoing conversations about the

body Body may refer to: In science * Physical body, an object in physics that represents a large amount, has mass or takes up space * Body (biology), the physical material of an organism * Body plan, the physical features shared by a group of anim ...

space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

, and

abstraction Abstraction is a process where general rules and concepts are derived from the use and classifying of specific examples, literal (reality, real or Abstract and concrete, concrete) signifiers, first principles, or other methods. "An abstraction" ...

. Artists such as

Jean-Michel Othoniel Jean-Michel Othoniel (born 27 January 1964) is a French contemporary artist. He has worked in a variety of artistic media, including film, installation, photography and sculpture. In 2000 he designed a new entrance for the Palais Royal–Mus ...

and

Louise Bourgeois Louise Joséphine Bourgeois (; 25 December 191131 May 2010) was a French-American artist. Although she is best known for her large-scale sculpture and installation art, Bourgeois was also a prolific painter and printmaker. She explored a varie ...

have also been said to engage with the themes of solidity and fluidity in ways that echo Maillol's approach to form.Musée Maillol, *Maillol et ses héritiers*, exhibition catalog, 2011. Maillol's influence persists not only in sculpture but also in broader conversations about the role of classical ideals in contemporary art, inviting ongoing re-evaluation and reinterpretation.

References

Sources

* Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, "Aristide Maillol, 1861–1944", New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 1975. * Frèches-Thory, Claire, & Perucchi-Petry, Ursula, ed.: ''Die Nabis: Propheten der Moderne'', Kunsthaus Zürich & Grand Palais, Paris & Prestel, Munich 1993 (German), (French)

External links

*
Masters of 20th Century Figure Sculpture

Maillol Museum
*
Aristide Maillol in Cultural Plunder by the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg
Database of Art Objects at the Jeu de Paume {{DEFAULTSORT:Maillol, Aristide 1861 births 1944 deaths People from Pyrénées-Orientales French modern sculptors French male painters French male sculptors Nabis (art) Artists from Occitania (administrative region) Painters from Catalonia Sculptors from Catalonia 19th-century French painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists 19th-century French sculptors 20th-century French sculptors 19th-century French male artists École des Beaux-Arts alumni Prix Blumenthal Road incident deaths in France