Charles Laurent-Daragon

CHARLES LAURENT-DARAGON (Paris, 1833–1904).
"Young Woman."
Carved white marble.
Signed and titled on the base.
It shows patina and slight wear consistent with its age.
Measurements: 121 x 73 x 60 cm.

Due to its near-life-size scale and the refinement of its execution, *Juventa* is a particularly ambitious composition within Charles Laurent-Daragon’s sculptural oeuvre. The title evokes the Roman personification of youth and directs the interpretation of the nude female figure toward an allegory of that stage of life.

The young woman appears withdrawn into herself, with her legs bent, her torso subtly twisted, and her head turned to the side. This composition avoids a frontal view and compels the viewer to survey the sculpture from different angles. One hand rises toward her chest while the other descends toward a small bouquet of flowers—a traditional symbol of youth, freshness, and the fleeting nature of beauty—thus reinforcing the work’s allegorical dimension. The serenity of the face and the restraint of the gesture focus the image on an idealized and introspective beauty.

The work belongs to the late 19th-century French academic tradition, still closely linked to the idealized nude and allegorical subjects of classical origin, but it incorporates a naturalistic observation that is particularly evident in the anatomy. The soft modeling of the flesh tones is a hallmark of the work, contrasting with the more incisive carving of the hair, the flowers, and the elements of the base. Particularly successful is the articulation of the arms and legs, whose interlacing creates depth and movement without compromising the harmony of the whole.

The sculptor Charles Laurent-Daragon was a student of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. He exhibited regularly at the Salon between 1863 and 1903 and resided for a time in Rome at the Villa Medici. His interest in technical processes led him to develop a bronze casting system, which was recognized with a silver medal at the 1889 Paris World’s Fair and a diploma of honor in 1890; in 1892, he also received an honorable mention. His career included major official commissions, among them the marble bust of Jean-François Millet, commissioned by the French government and now part of the collections of the Musée d’Orsay.