Aristide Maillol

Aristide Maillol (1861-1944) was a French sculptor whose calm, monumental female nudes became some of the most influential sculptures of the early 20th century. Born in Banyuls-sur-Mer near the Spanish border, he began as a painter and tapestry designer before turning to sculpture around 1900 due to failing eyesight.

Maillol's simplified, classical female figures reject the dynamic surfaces of Rodin in favor of stable, architectural forms. His Mediterranean (1905) announced a new direction in modern sculpture: serene, solid, timeless. His work influenced Henry Moore and subsequent generations of figurative sculptors. Twenty of his bronzes stand in the Tuileries Garden in Paris.