Offered by Artimo
REQUEST INFORMATION
Created for the tomb of the Orientalist painter Gustave Guillaumet, Jeune fille de Bou Saâda is a sculptural homage to the artist’s pictorial universe. Barrias reprises the recurring motif found in Guillaumet’s paintings, such as Les Tisseuses, in which young women from Bou Saâda are depicted seated, focused on the act of spinning wool.
In his bronze interpretation, Barrias retains the meditative posture but replaces the distaff and wool with a bouquet of flowers. This subtle shift transforms an everyday scene into a poetic allegory: the young girl, her eyes half-closed, embodies a silent offering, imbued with softness and contemplation.
The 71 cm version at the Musée Camille Claudel combined marble with precious inlays of turquoise and mother-of-pearl. Our 31 cm gilt bronze example (ca. 1890) offers a more intimate interpretation of this Orientalist masterpiece, where the elegance of the drapery and the delicacy of the gesture fully express Barrias’s mastery.
The work is in dark-patinated bronze and bears the mark of the founder Susse Frères: "Susse Fres Edts à Paris".
Louis-Ernest Barrias (1841–1905)
Louis-Ernest Barrias, a student of Jouffroy at the École des Beaux-Arts, was one of the most significant French sculptors of the late 19th century. Awarded the second Prix de Rome in 1861 with a bas-relief inspired by Homeric themes, he quickly established himself as a sensitive artist, attentive to detail and formal elegance.
His work combines academic language with an openness to Orientalism and modern subjects. Among his major creations are the monument La Défense de Paris (1883), La Nature se dévoilant devant la Science (1899, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle), as well as numerous busts and public monuments.
A respected professor and member of the Institut, Barrias embodied the official spirit of the Third Republic while cultivating a pursuit of plastic refinement. His death in 1905 brought an end to a prolific career that left some of the most emblematic milestones in French sculpture.
Delevery information :
Deliveries are offered in Belgium and Northern France.
All other deliveries are subject to a charge.
