Jules Aimé Dalou Sevres 1923 Terracotta-colored Sandstone

Superb small Realist sculpture, entitled "The Stone Breaker," terracotta-colored glazed stoneware by Jules Aimé DALOU (Paris 1838 - Paris 1902) - signature engraved on the edge of the base.
The sculpture also bears the mark of the Sèvres manufactory and the date 1923, with the initials E.R. (for Émile Roucheret, molder-repairer, between 1901 and 1941).

Realism, an artistic and intellectual 19th cty movement:
"To represent reality as it is: this is the ambition of realism. Opposed to the idealism of neoclassicism and the imagination promoted by romanticism, realism is a literary and artistic movement associated with the 19th century. In the novel, it is masterfully embodied by Honoré de Balzac. In art history, it is championed from the 1850s by Gustave Courbet but had precedents as early as the 1820's through the lithographs of Honoré Daumier or the Barbizon painters.
It is also present in other European countries, such as Belgium, Germany, and England.

The main representative of realistic sculpture is Jules Dalou, with monumental works on the working world that reflect his Republican and Communard commitments. He left numerous studies for an unfinished Monument to Workers project (Petit Palais Museum and Musée d'Orsay) that pay tribute to the working and peasant classes.

"To be able to convey the customs, ideas, and appearance of my era, according to my judgment, to be not only a painter, but also a man, in short, to create living art, that is my goal." Gustave Courbet.

Here too, Dalou "shows his character, an anonymous figure, with strength, pride, ... despite the extremely arduous and physical nature of his work. The artist develops in his work (or works) a political message in favor of workers, of the working classes. Far from any sense of misery, he is one of the great masters of social realism, giving a face to the anonymous at the time of industrial growth.

Perfect condition.
Dimensions: approximately
8.5 cm height *
7.5 cm length
and 6.5 cm depth

This realistic sculptural work by Dalou can also be compared to the later work of Ernest WITTMANN, whose works were similarly issued in white, without color, and with similar socio-political and humanist dimensions.

A bronze statuette of the same subject, "The Stone Breaker," cast by the foundry Susse Frères, is currently part of the Musée d'Orsay's collections (height 9.5; length 8.2; depth 7.8 cm) and bears the inventory number RF 4336. A contract dated June 30, 1902, was signed between the Susse foundry and Dalou's daughter for the edition of works; in this contract, "Stone Breaker" is listed as No. 8 E.

Bibliography:
* Amélie SIMIER, "Jules DALOU, the Sculptor of the Republic. Catalogue of Works by Jules DALOU Conserved at the Petit Palais, Paris Musées 2013;
* Pierre CADET, Gazette des beaux-arts, "The Edition of Dalou's Works by the House of Susse," Paris, [s.n.], 1994, p. 106;
* "Dalou, His Life and Work." Maurice Dreyfous, editor: H Laurens, 1903
* https://www.beauxarts.com/grand-format/le-realisme-en-2-minutes/

Exhibitions:
* Dream and Reality - Collections of the Musée d'Orsay - City Museum - Japan, Kobe, 1999
* Dream and Reality. Collections of the Musée d'Orsay - National Museum of Western Art - Japan, Tokyo, 1999
* Work and Suburb 1880-1980. Artists' Perspectives - Museum of the Île-de-France - France, Sceaux, 2001-2002
* Paris in the Age of Impressionism. Masterworks from the Musée d'Orsay - High Museum of Art - USA, Atlanta, 2002-2003
* Paris in the Age of Impressionism. Masterworks from the Musée d'Orsay - Museum of Fine Arts - USA, Houston, 2003
* All Collectors! Carpeaux and Dalou Published by the Susse Studio - Musée d'Orsay - France, Paris, 2010-2011