Édouard Drouot

ÉDOUARD DROUOT (France, 1859 - 1945).
"Winner in skiff".
Patinated bronze and marble.
Without signature.
Measurements: 20 x 55 x 20 cm.

This sculpture condenses and exemplifies the modern fascination for the sport and, more concretely, for the skiff, discipline incorporated to the Olympic Games at the beginning of the 20th century that reached a great popularity in countries like England, France, Germany and Italy, where clubs and sport federations dedicated to its practice proliferated. The sculpture is, therefore, an excellent example of the social advances of the early twentieth century, a key period for the structuring of our current society.

Sport in the Art Deco era was no longer understood solely as aristocratic entertainment, but became a symbol of the essential values of modernity: energy, discipline, dynamism, health, competitiveness and physical beauty. France was one of the great epicenters of this phenomenon, and art immediately incorporated this new exaltation of the body and movement.

Born in Sommevoire, France, Édouard Drouot was mainly a bronze sculptor but also worked in genre painting, achieving with one of his paintings an honorable mention at the Universal Exposition of Paris in 1900. He studied in the French capital as a disciple of Émile Thomas (1817-1882), a prominent sculptor of the time who carried out important official commissions and made portraits, monuments and sculptures in bronze and marble with allegorical and mythological themes. Drouot later expanded his training with Mathurin Moreau (1822-1891), one of the most prominent members of the renowned family of bronze and marble sculptors. Drouot himself achieved great successes, and had a wide clientele. He made busts and sculptures of mainly allegorical and mythological themes, although he also produced works of historical inspiration. His works are characterized by a sense of movement, particularly evident in pieces such as "Printemps", exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1897, "L'Echo", with its sinuous drapery, or his allegory of "Nightfall". Drouot will exhibit his works at the Salon since 1889, reiterating his presence during the twentieth century. In the first years of the new century, his works "L'Eveil du Printemps" (1906) and "Andromache" (1912) stand out. Drouot worked mainly in bronze, and over time he will expand his subject matter to animals, North African themes, Indians on horseback, hunting scenes, etc. However, he was especially known for his allegorical, classical and beautifully formed figures, which won him international recognition. This flute player is an example of his most characteristic production. It is a young woman, dressed in classical tunic and cloak and crowned with ivy, with delicate and idealized features despite the fact that she is represented blowing an aulos, a double flute from Ancient Greece.