Pierre Traverse (1892–1979) – The Woman and the Child

Artist: Pierre Traverse (Saint-André-de-Cubzac 1892 – Paris region 1979)
Title: The Woman and the Child
Period: circa 1930, Art Deco
Technique: bronze with a very dark brown-green patina, with slightly golden-brown highlights on the reliefs
Dimensions: 55 × 69 × 24 cm
Foundry: stamped by the Lastele foundry

Important bronze group depicting a nude young woman, kneeling, leaning toward a standing child who clings to her neck. The mother’s body, folded into itself, forms a wide protective arc; her joined hands support her inclined head, eyes closed, in an expression of softness and contemplation.

The child, nude, with a still rounded and youthful body, lifts himself toward her, wrapping his arms around her neck. A drapery falling between the two figures creates a vertical screen that visually connects the bodies and organizes the central space. The rectangular base, slightly hammered, extends the movement of the drapery folds.

The volumes are deliberately simplified: smooth surfaces, softened articulations, and stylized treatment of the hair, typical of the Art Deco language. The very dark brown-green patina, enlivened by warmer highlights on the protruding parts (shoulders, back, legs), emphasizes the sensuality of the modeling and reinforces the intimate and silent atmosphere of this scene of motherhood.

The sculpture bears the stamp of the Lastele foundry, also known as “La Stèle,” a Parisian art foundry specializing in Art Deco bronzes. This house collaborated with several modern sculptors and is distinguished by the quality of its castings, the precision of details, and the care devoted to patinas. The presence of this stamp, together with the signature of Pierre Traverse on the base, guarantees an early edition cast, produced according to the high standards of the major Parisian foundries of the first half of the 20th century.

Pierre Traverse is one of the most characteristic French sculptors of the Art Deco generation. Trained in Limoges and later at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he regularly exhibited at the major Parisian Salons, where he was quickly recognized.

His work is dominated by the human figure, particularly women, youth, and motherhood. He developed a highly personal style, classical in anatomical observation yet modern through the simplification of volumes, the search for fluid lines, and the sobriety of detail. His figures, often nude, combine restrained strength with meditative softness.

Traverse worked in stone, marble, and plaster for unique or monumental pieces, and entrusted his models to leading founders for bronze editions. The Woman and the Child stands at the heart of this body of work: an intimate theme of mother and child, treated with calm monumentality, full volumes, and a discreet elegance typical of his finest Art Deco creations.