Girl Bathing

Schadow was the most important sculptor of German Classicism. However, while studying at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin and working as Antoine Tassaert’s assistant he was confronted with the naturalistic tendencies of the French late Baroque. Girl Bathing, presumably his first marble work, follows this tradition and borrows motifs from works such as Christophe-Gabriel Allegrain’s Venus au bain of 1767 and Etienne-Maurice Falconet’s Baigneuse entrant au bain of 1757. The young artist conveys sensitivity and intimacy in the girl’s lowered head, her coy gesture of covering her breasts and careful testing of the water temperature. In his later works too, which are oriented more strongly on the formal clarity of Classicism and a focus on Antiquity, Schadow demonstrates a flair for subtle moods. (Katja Storalow)