The Espousal (The Passage of the Rhine)

model 1890/1892, cast c. 1907

Aimé-Jules Dalou

Associated Names
Aimé-Jules Dalou

Artist, French, 1838 - 1902

The sculpture depicts two human figures, one male and one female. The male figure is standing and holding the female figure up with both hands. The female figure is positioned on top of the male, her body leaning forward towards him. The sculpture is rendered in a dark, metallic material with a glossy sheen. The detailed texture captures the anatomy of the figures and drapery wrapped around them, creating a sense of dynamic movement and interaction between the two. The figures are depicted in an intimate pose, with the male looking upwards towards the female, who is gazing down at him with her hands resting on his shoulders. The sculpture presents a lifelike representation of the human form in motion.

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On View

West Building Ground Floor, Gallery G8

Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Paul Drey Gallery, New York), c. 1987;[1] purchased spring 1987 by Patricia Bauman, Washington;[2] gift 1990 to NGA.
[1] In NGA curatorial files.
[2] Verbal communication from Douglas Lewis and Donald Myers to Suzanne G. Lindsay.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1994

  • Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994: 49, repro.

2000

  • Butler, Ruth, and Suzanne Glover Lindsay, with Alison Luchs, Douglas Lewis, Cynthia J. Mills, and Jeffrey Weidman. European Sculpture of the Nineteenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2000: 111-116, color repro.

2009

  • Parshall, Peter, et al. The Darker Side of Light: Arts of Privacy, 1850-1900. Exh. cat., Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago. Washington, D.C., 2009: 144 fig. 9, 145-146.

2013

  • Galerie Malaquais. Galerie Malaquais, sculptures & dessins: 2013 Collection. Paris, 2013: 21.

Inscriptions

incised probably in a wax foundry model, on base at rear: DALOU; stamped probably in a wax foundry model, to right of signature on base at rear, a foundry cachet; incised probably in a wax foundry model, on base rim at rear, lower left: (B 8)

Markings

FM: CIRE / PERDUE / A A HÉBRARD

Wikidata ID

Q63860605

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