Joseph Bernard (1866-1931) - Lot 168

Joseph Bernard (1866-1931) Young girl standing with her hair up Circa 1931-1942 Bronze with shaded brown-green patina Signed "J.Bernard" and numbered "(C) N°7" Bears the founder's stamp "C.VALSUANI CIRE PERDUE". H. 67 x W. 12 x D. 12.7 cm Related works : -Joseph Bernard, Jeune fille à sa toilette, Asian marble, direct cut, size: 102 x 21 x 21 cm -Joseph Bernard, Jeune fille à sa toilette, dite Jeune fille se coiffant assise, circa 1910, bronze, signed and stamped Claude Valsuani, dim. 64 x 21.5 x 18 cm Related literature : -René Jullian, Jean Bernard, Lucien Stoenesco, Pascale Grémont Gervaise, Joseph Bernard, Fondation de Coubertin, Saint-Rémy-Lès-Chevreuse, 1989, p. 323 ; - Paul Vitry, "L'exposition des Arts décoratifs modernes", in Gazette des Beaux-Arts, Nov. 1925, pp.287-300; - Luc Benoit, "Joseph Bernard (1866-1931)", in Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1932, vol 2, pp.217- 228 ; -Didier Chautant, Recherches sur la vie et l'œuvre de Joseph Bernard 1866-1931 : sculpteur français, 1977, sn, n°151, p.66 et pp.70 -71 ; - Catherine Chevillot, Paris, crucible for sculpture (1900-1904), 3 vols. s.l., 2013. The theme of the young girl combing her hair, which Joseph Bernard treated many times, gave the artist, enamored of feminine beauty, the opportunity to sublimate its plastic canons with his refined, synthetic style. Close in composition to La Jeune fille assise à sa toilette, the work offers a vibrant, graceful composition. In its initial format (H. 102 cm), the work, executed in Asian marble, was intended to fit into an enclosed space and "evoke the intimacy of a peaceful state". Our copy corresponds to the second stage of the study for this unique work, finally executed in arabesque in 1922. Our copy, a bronze reduction, brilliantly conveys the sensitive, peaceful emanation intended by the artist. Paul Vitry, in his description of the sculptures presented at the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et des industries appliquées in 1925, speaks for an audience charmed by the subject: "It is really in the work of this artist, whose plastic research in the famous pieces Jeune fille à la cruche and Jeune fille assise au bras levé is akin to the art of Bourdelle, Maillol and Despiau, that we seem to find the formula for the happiest and most complete decorative sculpture presented at the Exhibition".