Aimé-Jules Dalou

Boulonnaise at Prayer

circa 1879

Aimé-Jules Dalou (1838-1902) was one of only a handful of leading late-nineteenth century French Sculptors, whose reputation was perhaps second only to his contemporaries, Henri Chapu (1833-1891) and Marius Jean Antonin Mercié (1845-1916). Dalou was hugely influential and was a founding member of the Société des Artistes Français and later a founder of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. He was officially rewarded with the highest rank of the Légion d'Honneur two years before his death, with the inauguration of the Triumph of the Republic, in 1899. He started his artistic training in 1852 at the Petite Ecole after being encouraged to do so by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, where he studied drawing and modelling. Carpeaux continued to support Dalou throughout his career and influenced his sculpture greatly. Dalou began employment in the field of decorative sculpture working for two companies in Paris, Lefèvre and Favière goldsmiths. During this time he contributed towards the architectural features of Hôtel de la Païva, the then home of the infamous French courtesan Esther Lachmann known as La Païva. Dalou's unique approach lay in his broad range of subject, painterly and sculptural source material, though which he absorbed an impressive spectrum of inspiration. The work of an eighteenth-century sculptor, Louis-François Roubiliac, played a significant role in Dalou's artistic development, whose sculptures he studied whilst in London. Dalou's work includes friezes, maquettes, reliefs, and individual bronze figures. He is known for Baroque-inspired allegorical group compositions, as much as for his depictions of the French rural labouring classes. Dalou encouraged students of art to free themselves from the constraints of established traditions, with his style and teachings thought to have awakened a new generation of young British sculptors whose work was later aligned to the New Sculpture movement. Dalou’s first public commission in England was to create a large public fountain which still sits behind the Royal Exchange in London entitled Charity, featuring a mother and two children. This maquette is an early sketch, modelled in 1877. During his time in Britain, Dalou’s artistic focus shifted to increasingly domestic scenes that celebrated mothers and children of all social backgrounds. During a time when the Industrial Revolution was making life increasingly frenzied, more pastoral, idealised visions of a simpler life became an increasingly popular escape. It is thought that the shrinking of Dalou’s social circle during his exile to encompass his family and close friends prompted him to focus more on intimate family scenes such as this one. In Charity the mother and her children are fused together in their embrace. Dalou creates a sense of intimacy by focusing the mother’s gaze away from the viewer - the trio are entirely in their own world. Charity’s intended position at one of the city’s key financial centres would have acted as a provocative reminder of what Dalou considered the responsibilities owed to the poor of London by the ruling elite, as aligned with his socialist leanings. Provenance: Alfred Drury...

Alfred Gilbert (1854–1934) was probably the greatest and best known sculptor in pre-20th century British art. Works such as The Shaftesbury Memorial (Eros) located at the southeaster...

Aimé-Jules Dalou (1838-1902) was one of only a handful of leading late-nineteenth century French Sculptors, whose reputation was perhaps second only to his contemporaries, Henri Chap...

Aimé-Jules Dalou (1838-1902) was one of only a handful of leading late-nineteenth century French Sculptors, whose reputation was perhaps second only to his contemporaries, Henri Chap...

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