Iris & B. Gerald Cantor, New York
A gift from the above on December 31, 1984

Aristide Maillol 1861-1944 (exhibition catalogue), Gimpel Fils, London, 1975, no. 8, illustration of another cast n.p.
Aristide Maillol 1861-1944 (exhibition catalogue), The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1975, no. 41, illustration of another cast n.p.
Maillol (exhibition catalogue), Staadtliche Kunsthalle, Baden-Baden, 1978, no. 19, illustration of another cast n.p.
Maillol au Palais des Rois de Majorque (exhibition catalogue), Musée Hyacinthe Rigaud, Perpignan, 1979, no. 35, illustration of another cast p. 78 
Bertrand Lorquin, Aristide Maillol, Geneva, 1994, illustration of another cast in a photograph of Dina Vierny p. 186
Aristide Maillol (exhibition catalogue), Georg-Kolbe Museum, Berlin & Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, 1996-97, no. 50, illustration of another cast p. 191

This work is in overall very good condition and has a rich brown patina with attractive accents of green and red. Small area of white paint to the back of the base. Some minor patina wear and surface scratches in places, consistent with age and handling.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

When asked by a compatriot why Maillol focused on the female form in his sculptural works he replied, “Ah, because I don’t have a [male] model. Rodin, he can pay for as many models as he likes, but we other artists usually have to use women. I still intend to do a male; I find the male body more beautiful than that of the female, but I still have to use a female [model]” (quoted in Ursel Berger “Maillol sculpteur,” in Maillol (exhibition catalogue), Musée des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1996, p. 43 translated from French). Maillol’s statement here is not entirely sincere, for no other theme is as synonymous with Maillol’s sculpture as that of the female nude. His work enjoyed immediate success, thus had he wanted a male model, he would have had no issues hiring one. Berger goes on to say, “he had no interest in creating statues of men. He could and did represent what he liked…women, his muses” (ibid., p. 44).

The present work magnificently exemplifies Maillol’s celebration of the idealized female form. He has masterfully carved her contours and lines to create an image of classical youth and beauty. When describing Maillol’s female figures, Octave Mirbeau observed, “She presents the idea of force, of the promise of the flesh; she gives the idea of life because she is life. And her strength is tempered by her divinity; it’s filled with infinite beauty, with natural and spontaneous grace...She is Maillol’s Woman, a new approach to the sculpture of our time, a new treasury of admirable, living form” (Octave Mirbeau, Aristide Maillol, Paris, 1921, n.p.).

Maillol met Kurt von Mutzenbecher, issue of a Hamburg merchant family, in 1904. Enchanted, Mutzenbecher commissioned from him a major sculpture to form the centerpiece of his salon. Flanked by a series of decorative panels by Maurice Denis entitled L'Éternal Été, and furniture by Henry van de Velde, Jeunne femme agenouillée crowned Mutzenbecher's mantelpiece.

The plaster model (now in the Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo) illustrates how, for this commission, Maillol enlarged and 🌄adapted his 16.5 cm statuette of the same title, executed in 1900, and created a new plinth to suit the site. The whereabouts of Mutzenbecher's original bronze have been unknown since the 1960s.

In subsequent castings, Jeune fille agenouillée became a torso, without arms. This revision heightens the antique feel of the wo❀rk, attesting to Maillol's interest in classical statuary prior to his Greek voyage of 1908. Rooted in close observation of the life model, and characterized by an ideal grace and delicacy, this enduring composition celebrated feminine beauty in monumental form.