Cormier / Descomps, symbolist bronze figure. Woman at the Mirror and her Chimeras
€ 2,950.00
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Joé Descomps, Cormier (1869-1950)
Woman at the Mirror and her Chimeras.
Patinated bronze figure. Signed to the bronze.
C.Valsuani foundry mark. Circa 1900/1915.
Marble base. Excellent condition.
41.5 cm
This important bronze casting with a nuanced patina, signed “Cormier” on the terrace, is a work by Joseph Emmanuel Descomps, known as Joé Descomps-Cormier (1869-1950), dating from the Symbolist period. It features a standing female nude, her body slightly arched, holding a mirror in which she appears to be deeply absorbed. The face, rendered with dramatic intensity, is distinguished by deeply hollowed eye sockets, giving her gaze an expression of hypnotic fascination. This central figure is framed by two fantastical entities: a grimacing Mephistophelean silhouette emerging behind her shoulder and a monstrous, hybrid creature crawling at her feet.
The work belongs to the aesthetic Symbolism movement and late-century explorations of the psyche. The introduction of the mirror transforms the scene into an allegory of introspection and self-discovery: the woman contemplates the depths of her own mind. The contrast between the academic perfection of the nude and the fantastical nature of the surrounding figures illustrates the tension between physical reality and the forces of the imagination. This bronze demonstrates Descomps’ virtuosity in translating, through the interplay of shadows within the facial features, the concepts of inner influence and the mystery of human consciousness.
Works from this Symbolist movement are particularly rare on the market; this artistic window, between 19th-century academicism and the rise of Art Deco, was as brief as it was intense
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Joé Descomps, Cormier (1869-1950)
Woman at the Mirror and her Chimeras.
Patinated bronze figure. Signed to the bronze.
C.Valsuani foundry mark. Circa 1900/1915.
Marble base. Excellent condition.
41.5 cm
This important bronze casting with a nuanced patina, signed “Cormier” on the terrace, is a work by Joseph Emmanuel Descomps, known as Joé Descomps-Cormier (1869-1950), dating from the Symbolist period. It features a standing female nude, her body slightly arched, holding a mirror in which she appears to be deeply absorbed. The face, rendered with dramatic intensity, is distinguished by deeply hollowed eye sockets, giving her gaze an expression of hypnotic fascination. This central figure is framed by two fantastical entities: a grimacing Mephistophelean silhouette emerging behind her shoulder and a monstrous, hybrid creature crawling at her feet.
The work belongs to the aesthetic Symbolism movement and late-century explorations of the psyche. The introduction of the mirror transforms the scene into an allegory of introspection and self-discovery: the woman contemplates the depths of her own mind. The contrast between the academic perfection of the nude and the fantastical nature of the surrounding figures illustrates the tension between physical reality and the forces of the imagination. This bronze demonstrates Descomps’ virtuosity in translating, through the interplay of shadows within the facial features, the concepts of inner influence and the mystery of human consciousness.
Works from this Symbolist movement are particularly rare on the market; this artistic window, between 19th-century academicism and the rise of Art Deco, was as brief as it was intense