Summer

Mediums: bronze.
Location: the lobby of the Metropolitan Opera, New York (the USA).

Although the “Nabis”, a group of followers of Gauguin, which Maillol joined, continued a radical departure from the canons of Classicism, offering further “erosion of forms”, the sculptor thought about the truth of the object. Maillol said, “I have never been content with just form or material. I did not want to create a form, but to put my soul into it. I was looking for the spirit”. In 1907, creating a group of four statues symbolizing the seasons at the request of Morozov, Maillol put his idea into each of them; for example, “Pomona” (1910) is the embodiment of fertility. The figure “Summer” personifies the enjoyment of rest, warmth and peace; the look of the nude model is devoid of any expression, almost relaxed.