Woman reading
Statuette
ca. 1875 (made)
ca. 1875 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This is a sketch model (hence the rough surface), modelled by Aimé-Jules Dalou in about 1875 for a larger sculpture and several of these appear to have been made. One, a lifesize terracotta, is now in the Manchester City Art Gallery.
Dalou (1838-1902) was the son of a glove maker and initially trained in drawing at the Petit École in Paris. There he was encouraged to study and create sculpture. In 1854 he entered the École des Beaux-Arts, where he trained for four years. He was known for his left-wing political sympathies and was involved in the establishment of the Paris Commune in 1871 after which he was forced into exile in London, where he lived from 1871 until his return to Paris in 1879. In London he frequently exhibited at the Royal Academy and he was given a teaching appointment at the National Art Training School in South Kensington (later the Royal College of Art), where he had a profound effect on the development of British sculpture.
Dalou (1838-1902) was the son of a glove maker and initially trained in drawing at the Petit École in Paris. There he was encouraged to study and create sculpture. In 1854 he entered the École des Beaux-Arts, where he trained for four years. He was known for his left-wing political sympathies and was involved in the establishment of the Paris Commune in 1871 after which he was forced into exile in London, where he lived from 1871 until his return to Paris in 1879. In London he frequently exhibited at the Royal Academy and he was given a teaching appointment at the National Art Training School in South Kensington (later the Royal College of Art), where he had a profound effect on the development of British sculpture.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Woman reading (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Terracotta |
| Brief description | Statuette, terracotta, of a seated woman reading, by Aimé-Jules Dalou, Anglo-French, ca. 1875 |
| Physical description | Seated figure of a woman reading. The figure is seated in a light chair, wearing a long full peignoir, the arms are folded across her breast and to the right, in her right hand she holds an open book from which she is reading. The whole body has been twisted slightly to the left as if to catch the light on the book. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Bequeathed by Miss S. Mary Forbes in 1934. Transferred to the Bethnal Green Museum in 1970, and returned to the V&A in 1983. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This is a sketch model (hence the rough surface), modelled by Aimé-Jules Dalou in about 1875 for a larger sculpture and several of these appear to have been made. One, a lifesize terracotta, is now in the Manchester City Art Gallery. Dalou (1838-1902) was the son of a glove maker and initially trained in drawing at the Petit École in Paris. There he was encouraged to study and create sculpture. In 1854 he entered the École des Beaux-Arts, where he trained for four years. He was known for his left-wing political sympathies and was involved in the establishment of the Paris Commune in 1871 after which he was forced into exile in London, where he lived from 1871 until his return to Paris in 1879. In London he frequently exhibited at the Royal Academy and he was given a teaching appointment at the National Art Training School in South Kensington (later the Royal College of Art), where he had a profound effect on the development of British sculpture. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.38-1934 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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