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1861 - 1944

Aristide Maillol

description

A French Catalan-born sculptor, master of tapestry, painter and book illustrator. He was a member of the Nabis group created by Paul Gauguin’s followers, although he did not use their sculpting techniques.

Maillol appeared in the second and main period of his creative career as one of the most original sculptors and is considered an author who made a revolutionary “return” to classical sculpture at a time when art had a vector of movement towards Abstractionism. He strove for harmony, proportionality, simplification of visual forms, gravitating towards grandeur at the end of the 19th century.

Some also catalog him as the forerunner of such sculptors as Henry Moore (blog entry made on November 15, 2009). Although, if we delve into his biography, we will know him as a versatile artist who dominated all disciplines, although he finally found a way to his style in sculpture.

Thanks to the efforts of a friend and muse of the master, Dina Verni, who throughout her life was engaged in propaganda of the work of Aristide Maillol, in 1995, the museum of the sculptor, master of decorative and applied art and painter was opened in Paris. She presented 18 sculptures to the French people on condition that they will be permanently exhibited in the Tuileries Gardens.

Aristide Maillol’s humanistic in essence and execution art had a huge impact on the work of many of the largest sculptors of the 20th century.

Key ideas:

– At the beginning of his creative career, the French sculptor was more engaged in painting, and also made tapestries. He started creating sculptures in adulthood and in his works relied on the ancient Greek culture adored by him, while preserving the specificity of life images and striving for the generalization of plastic volumes.

– Maillol called the art of Symbolist Puvis de Chavannes the strongest impression of the early 1980s. However, the decisive role in the formation of his manner was played by works of Paul Gauguin, which he studied in 1889 – he adopted from Gauguin the anti-academic, modern sound and energy of the artistic language, understanding of art as an “image” of the world. Aristide retained deep relations with Gauguin in the future.

– The style of his tapestries, as well as his paintings of the early period, was strongly influenced by Art Nouveau style and the Pont-Aven school (the “Nabis” group). Stylized simplification and a smoothly soft, meandering line will remain a distinctive feature of the creator’s style.

– Aristide Maillol sought harmony of weighty-material, and sometimes heavy forms, the integrity of sculptural surfaces and smooth silhouettes. Representing mainly naked female figures, he embodied the ideal of beauty in them, at the same time conveying either the dynamics inherent in nature, or a sense of contemplative calmness.

– The master worked on each sculpture for a long time, trying to connect its symbolic content with the images of modernity, and oriented his artistic decisions towards harmony with the environment.

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1934

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1944

Aristide Maillol was the son of a winegrower

Aristide Maillol was the son of a winegrower, whose surname means “vine” in the Catalan dialect. Twenty years of his life passed in peasant labor and persistent attempts to engage in art.

He settled in Paris

Having left college, he settled in Paris. At first, he attended the school at the Academy of Fine Arts, then the School of Decorative Arts. In these institutions, he was oppressed by the conservative education system.

Entered the École de Bozart

Entered the École de Bozart, studied in the classes of A. Cabanel and G. Jerome. Over the four years of study, he acquired professional skills but was greatly disappointed in academic studies.

The sculptor met Paul Gauguin and artists of the Nabis group

The sculptor met Paul Gauguin and artists of the Nabis group; this became important for him. The artist was interested, in addition to painting, in making tapestries that could lead to the revival of ancient crafts.

He returned home and organized a workshop of tapestry

He returned home and organized a workshop of tapestry and decorative objects: six craftswomen worked on products according to his sketches for screens, panels, and so on. At the exhibition “Group XX” in Brussels, he showed his tapestries “Enchanted Garden” and “Music”. He also worked with wood, ceramics and bronze, decorating his works with stucco antique characters. These works were presented to the public and made Maillol famous; many of his admirers were art collectors.

Temporarily lost sight

Temporarily lost sight. When he recovered, he was forced to leave painting and carpet weaving. He independently created sculptures, starting with small figurines in the simplified decorative style of art nouveau.

Auguste Rodin visited the first solo exhibition of Maillol

Auguste Rodin visited the first solo exhibition of Maillol and was impressed by the work “Leda”. This peculiar blessing of the great sculptor was success and recognition of the correctness of the path he chose for himself.

“Mediterranean”

Having started creating the first large statues back in 1901, he exhibited the work “Mediterranean” (or “Thought”) at the Paris Autumn Salon; it was a huge success, as it was impeccable in composition and surprisingly plastic. He began to participate in competitions for the manufacture of monuments. His first monument was “Bound Freedom”, which customers were unsatisfied with: they hid the unusual work, placing it on a very high pedestal surrounded by trees.

Made a long-awaited trip to Greece

Made a long-awaited trip to Greece thanks to collector and admirer Kessler. He stayed there for almost two years, contemplating and sketching the Parthenon sculptures and other ancient artefacts.

His first exhibition was held in the United States

His first exhibition was held in the United States in the city of Buffalo. In Europe, the sculptures were shown in almost all European capitals and many cities.

He met a fifteen-year-old native citizen of Moldova, Dina Virni

During a retrospective exhibition in Swiss Basel, he met a fifteen-year-old native citizen of Moldova, Dina Virni, who became his model, muse and friend until the end of his life. During the war, she headed the transition of refugees through the Pyrenees. Maillol showed her the routes. Dina, a Jewish woman, was arrested by the Gestapo twice; however, the artist, thanks to A. Brecker (Hitler’s favorite sculptor), managed to free her. This negatively affected Maillol’s reputation, as he was considered an accomplice of the Nazis. Later, the transition route for the Jews was called the “Maillol road”.

The large show took place in Paris

A large show took place in Paris at the World Exhibition, which made the sculptor world-known. The works became popular and were included in the collections of the largest museums around the world.

Started to work on his last monumental statue “Harmony”

Started to work on his last monumental statue “Harmony”. In the difficult years of the occupation, the sculptor practically did not leave Banyuls, every day spending ten hours in the workshop despite his age. The work was not finished – Aristide Maillol died as a result of injuries from a car accident.