French school; c. 1920.

French school; c. 1920.
"Seated young woman".
Alabaster and marble pedestal.
Presents restoration on the fingers.
Measurements: 101 x 42 x 35 cm; 115 x 33,5 x 33,5 cm.
The figure represents a young woman seated in a serene and contemplative attitude, conceived with a formal delicacy that refers both to fin-de-siècle academicism and to certain sensibilities linked to early Art Deco. The combination of materials, white alabaster for the anatomy and veined marble for the dress and the pedestal, not only introduces a remarkable chromatic and tactile contrast, but also evidences the interest in the natural polychromy of the stone, a resource much appreciated in French decorative sculpture of the time.
From the stylistic point of view, the work is characterized by the softness of the volumes, the idealization of the face and the elegant gestural restraint of the figure. The relaxed posture, the fluid modeling of the drapery and the vertical composition on a column refer to classical models reinterpreted in a modern and ornamental language. In the face of the radical avant-gardes that were beginning to transform the European artistic scene, this piece manifests a desire for balance, harmony and timeless beauty, values still very much present in French academic and bourgeois sculptural circles of the interwar period.
The function of this type of sculpture was mainly decorative and representative. Intended for sophisticated interiors, private salons, galleries or reception areas, these works acted as symbols of cultural distinction and aesthetic refinement. The cylindrical pedestal, integrated as an essential part of the composition, elevates the figure and reinforces its contemplative dimension. Beyond its ornamental value, the piece has historical relevance as a testimony of a transitional moment in European sculpture, in which tradition and modernity coexisted. Its careful technical execution and the use of noble materials reflect the high level of craftsmanship of the French workshops of the early twentieth century, as well as the taste of a society that still found in the idealized female figure an emblem.