10/5/23 - Acquisition - New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art - Aimé-Jules Dalou saw himself as an artisan, belonging to the working class. A fervent republican, his sculptures bore witness to an artistic project in keeping with his human convictions. For him, modernity was embodied in the glorification of workers, "[this] culte destined to replace past mythologies [1]". The Metropolitan Museum of New York has just acquired a superb plaster print of the Head of the Great Peasant (ill. 1) from the dealer Allan Chinn, who is decidedly very active with American institutions (see articles).
-
- Jules Dalou (1838-1902)
Peasant’s head
Patinated plaster - H: 34 cm
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Photo: Frédéric Uyttenhove - See the image in its page
Between the years 1879 and 1899, Dalou worked on the Triumph of the Republic following the competition launched in 1878 and won by the Morice brothers. Despite his second place, his extraordinary monument was commissioned by the Paris City Council for the Place de la Nation. The project shows a figure of Labour, to the right of the Republic, embodied by a blacksmith whose moving body is still relatively idealised. The musculature and folds of the flesh subtly convey the movement and vigour of the man at work. The allegory is realistic. At the inauguration of the sculpture, Dalou was deeply shocked by the lack of consideration given to the people who came to the event. He then decided, without any order being placed with him, to create a monument dedicated to the workers.
-
- 2. Jules Dalou (1838-1902)
Vue des esquisses du Monument aux ouvriers lors de l’exposition Jules Dalou. Le sculpteur
de la République, Paris, Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, 2013
Photo : Paris Musées - See the image in its page
This one occupied him until the end of his life, he multiplied the studies, reflecting his perfectionism and intransigence. A laborious crowd was born in his studio (see ill. 2). In order to find the right gesture and physiognomy, he drew and sculpted from professional models who came to pose and, above all, he went to meet the workers of the Ile-de-France and gathered a whole photographic documentation. His clay sketches, initially simple silhouettes, became more precise, his figures, initially naked, were gradually clothed and much more detailed studies were made of the faces. Among other workers, several peasants are represented: a Lorraine cart driver, an Italian, a Breton... Each bust is numbered, sometimes with an indication of the place of the meeting, the profession and the age of the model. The exhibition devoted to Dalou held in 2013 at the Petit Palais (see article) perfectly captured this impression of creative abundance (ill. 1).
The Peasant’s Head was made, often after the artist’s death, from various materials. The Petit Palais has a very fine terracotta copy and the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Reims a glazed stoneware from the Sèvres factory. The plaster acquired by the Metropolitan shows an exaggerated realism. Nothing is idealised in this hard, closed face. The years, the difficulty of work, have marked this man with deep wrinkles. Hairless and sparse, he frowns. His gaze lowered to the earth seems lost in material concerns. The collar of his shirt, slightly open, lets us see the powerful yet fragile torso of a man who has spent his life working with his hands. What a beauty, however, this face shaped by life! It is easy to imagine how the sculptor in search of humanity could have been fascinated by these features. Time has shaped the living matter as the sculptor works the clay.
It is probably because of its great aesthetic qualities and virtuoso execution that this plaster remained in the Palazzolo brothers’ collection for many decades. Piero and Albino Palazzolo were both founders in Italy. They came to France at the very beginning of the 20th century to work for Hébrard, where Albino became the head of the workshop. Together they cast the first bronze copy of Rodin’s Penseur. They perfected the sand casting technique and also developed a lost-wax casting method that allowed the original wax to be saved by using gelatine. Albino was thus entrusted with the task of casting in bronze the waxes found at Degas’ home after his death, while preserving them intact [2]. Piero also tried his hand at sculpture in the manner of Rembrandt Bugatti, whose first pieces he cast. This plaster of the Peasant’s Head was probably made by Piero Palazzolo using one of the techniques developed with his brother. Its very fine quality, its nervous rendering, show the virtuosity of the practitioners, a superb tribute in return to this artist who wished to highlight the working class.
This acquisition fills a gap in the Metropolitan’s collection of Dalou’s works. Indeed, while most of the works are female subjects, this is the first piece showing a "social realist" representation [3]. The museum has a small Breton peasant head whose attribution is less certain. Beyond the remarkable character of this sculpture, both in terms of its technique and iconography, it brings a diversification to French collections, highlighting the value of the artistic production of the period. Although most of Dalou’s sculptures are not on display in the galleries at present, they will soon be given pride of place in a new showcase dedicated to them, which will contrast them with those of Carpeaux, bringing the master and the pupil together on an equal footing.