243 - Charles CORDIER (1827–1905)

Charles CORDIER (1827–1905) Moorish Singer Bronze cast with a nuanced brown patina, unsigned H. 41 cm Note: Charles Cordier (1827–1905) was a major 19th-century French sculptor, famous for reintroducing polychromy into modern statuary and for his role as sculptor attached to the National Museum of Natural History. Driven by a humanistic approach that was innovative for his time, he sought to celebrate the diversity of the world’s faces, asserting that “beauty is not the exclusive domain of a privileged race.” To render skin tones, fabrics, and adornments, he masterfully combined various materials: bronzes with contrasting patinas (silver and gold), polychrome marbles, and Algerian onyx. His work *Singing Moorish Woman from Algiers* (often called *Moorish Singer*, created around 1856–1857) was created during an official state-funded mission to Algeria. This bust captures a young woman in the midst of singing, her lips slightly parted and her head tilted back slightly, breaking with traditional academic rigidity. Cordier displays remarkable skill in rendering textures: the intricate draping of the turban, the intricately crafted earrings, and the refinement of the metallic patinas lend the figure a striking vitality. Far from being a mere ethnological document or a static Orientalist fantasy, this sculpture stands as a vibrant tribute to individual grace and lively musical expression.