“The Punishment [Les Chatiments]” by Aimé-Jules Dalou

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The Punishment [Les Chatiments]

Aimé-Jules Dalou (1838-1902)

Plaster

9¼ x 13⅛ inches (23.5 x 33.5cm)

Collection: Robert Bowman

Signed “DALOU.”

Inscribed in the plaster “A monsieur Venierre hommage bien cordial” and initialled “JD”

[Click on image to enlarge it.]

Bronze version

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Commentary by Robert Bowman

Les Chatiments is derived from Dalou’s design for a monument to Victor Hugo. In the final design (which was never installed) Dalou places Hugo, recumbent on his death bead, underneath a huge arch flanked” by pillars and topped with allegorical figures and animals. The back of the arch is decorated with figures in relief, swirling and diving down towards Hugo. Auguste Rodin employed a similar technique whilst sculpting the figures in relief for the Gates of Hell.

Les Chatiments is a small cross section of the relief panel from Dalou’s final design and appears above Hugo’s right shoulder. The strong muscular modelling and flowing composition call to mind the sculpture of Michelangelo and the work owes more to the Italian renaissance than any other in Dalou’s oeuvre.

Bibliography

Aimé-Jules Dalou (1897-1902). Online exhibition catalogue. London: Bowman Sculpture, 2014. Web. 29 November 2014.

Last modified 29 November 2014