Joe Descomps Cormier 'kneeling Nude Woman With Drape' Art Deco Terracotta Sculpture, 1910

JOE DESCOMPS – Kneeling Nude Woman with Drape, Art Deco Terracotta Sculpture, Ca. 1910
Rare and finely executed terracotta sculpture with perfect proportions and a beautiful matte patina. The piece is signed "Joe Descomps" on the left edge. Very good overall condition, with only a few small chips on the base (see images for details). This work predates the First World War (therefore before 1914), placing it at the very forefront of the Art Deco movement — see the biography below for more context.

About the Artist
Joé Descomps (1869, Clermont-Ferrand – 1950, Paris), born Emmanuel-Jules-Joseph Descomps, was a sculptor, chaser, and master goldsmith. He studied under Louis-Auguste Hiolin and Alexandre Falguière. After WWI, he began signing his works as Descomps-Cormier or simply Cormier, which is the case with this sculpture.

Descomps is renowned for his elegant depictions of female figures, nymphs, and mythological scenes. In the early part of his career, he created decorative Art Nouveau pieces before moving on to bronze and ivory Art Deco statuettes in the 1920s. He participated in the 1893 Chicago Exhibition and worked with Frédéric Boucheron.

A member of the Association des Artistes Français since 1883, he exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français from 1891 to 1937. He received an honorable mention in 1898, a third-class medal in 1921, a second-class medal in 1925, and a first-class medal in 1928. In 1929, he was named Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur. His studio was located in La Charité-sur-Loire.

Selected Works and Museum Collections

• Bacchantes, Salon of 1903

• Marie de Padilla, Salon of 1905

• Red Cross Nurse’s Medal (1914–1919), Musée des Hospices Civils de Lyon

• Female Torso (ca. 1926), Musée La Piscine, Roubaix

• Danaïde (ca. 1926), Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris

• Artemis (1928), plaster; Young Girl (1925), plaster – Musée Roger-Quilliot, Clermont-Ferrand

• Nude Woman and Faun and Bacchante, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux

• Woman with a Garland of Flowers, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Blois

Packaging and Delivery Costs

• Collection: Free

• Belgium: €30

• France: €50

• Europe: €80

• Rest of the world: €200