7099 - Minne, George

Minne, George Baigneuse IV Plaster, with an ivory-colored patina, on a plaster plinth. 1928. Approx. 37.3 x 15 x 12 cm. Signed “George Minne” and dated on the back of the plinth. See van Puyvelde 97, p. 119 (the bronze version is shown there). George Minne initially studied in his native Belgian city of Ghent and became a member of the artists’ group “Les XX” in 1891, which included James Ensor, among others. That same year, he went to Paris to become a student of Auguste Rodin, who, however, rejected him. He then founded his own artists’ colony, the “Latem School,” in Sint-Martens-Latem with the painters Albinus Van den Abeele, Valerius De Saedeleer, Albert Servaes, and Gustaaf Van de Woestijne. The graceful pose of the bathers, with their arms elegantly crossed, lends a special effect to this sculpturally sophisticated composition, which Minne rendered convincingly in this version. Plaster figures by Minne are rarely found on the international auction market. Provenance: Formerly the collection of Josefina Cardenas - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog.