Aristide Maillol: 6 works

'Maillol studied at the art school in Paris and met French artists such as Bonnard and Denis, with whom he formed the Nabis.'

'In addition to painting, Maillol also designed and wove tapestries. He decided to become a sculptor at the age of 40 and had to give up painting and weaving when his eyesight weakened.'

'Aristide Maillol greatly admired classical torsos that had lost their arms. He once explained this preference, "Greek statues often are much more beautiful without arms because these always hide part of the body--either the bust or the stomach, or the waistline--which is absolutely marvelous and which we admire today since the arms have disappeared."'

'Maillol's own interest in the general pose first appears in his paintings of bathers around 1895, derived from works on this theme by Gauguin and Renoir. Maillol's first work in the form of a recumbent female nude evolved from his commission to create a monument to Cézanne (finished 1925, Musée d'Orsay, Paris), whose own paintings of bathers were made in dialogue with works by Renoir.'

'In 1938, Aristide Maillol embarked on an ambitious commission which ultimately became "La Rivière (The River)," his final masterpiece.'