Bronze Cast - Nude Woman - Ariadne Abandoned By Theseus - Aimé Millet - Napoleon III

Ariadne Abandoned, Aimé Millet (1819–1891), Bronze with brown patina, 19th century, 28.5 cm, Signed on the right side. Beautiful nuanced brown patina. Traces of age and old imperfections visible in photos. This bronze sculpture depicts Ariadne Abandoned, a mythological subject treated with great sensitivity by Aimé Millet, a major figure in 19th-century French sculpture. Ariadne is represented at the poignant moment of her awakening on the island of Naxos, discovering the abandonment of Theseus, whom she had saved by enabling him to triumph over the Minotaur. Isolated and left to her own devices, she embodies betrayal, silent grief, and wounded dignity, offering a profoundly human and emotional interpretation of this famous mythological episode. The artist favored inner expression and the nobility of modeling, characteristics of the Romantic and academic aesthetics of the 19th century. Aimé Millet, a student of David d'Angers, won the Prix de Rome in 1840, a pivotal moment in his career. He subsequently distinguished himself through important public commissions, notably Apollo, Poetry, and Music, which crowned the Opéra Garnier in Paris. A professor at the École des Arts Décoratifs from 1870, he played a major role in the artistic training of the late 19th century. Among his students were artists who became essential figures, such as Louis Majorelle, future master of Art Nouveau, François Pompon, the renowned animal sculptor, as well as Lucien Pallez and John Walz, testifying to Millet's lasting influence on several generations. An elegant and expressive body of work, emblematic of the 19th-century taste for mythological subjects and museum-quality sculpture.