Catalan School, ca. 1900

Catalan School, ca. 1900.
“Female Nude.”
Marble.
The hand shows signs of previous restoration.
Measurements: 38 cm (figure height); 6 cm (base height).

The sculpture up for auction is part of the classicist and Mediterranean revival that defined much of Catalan sculpture in the early decades of the 20th century. Close in spirit to the Noucentisme movement and to masters such as Josep Clarà and Enric Casanovas, the figure moves away from the expressive intensity of Modernism in favor of a serene, balanced, and timeless beauty. The frontal orientation, the harmony of the proportions, and the smooth, continuous modeling lend the figure a remarkable sculptural presence. The female nude is presented here as an ideal of beauty inspired by the Greco-Roman tradition, where the purity of the silhouette and the fullness of the forms take center stage.