Materials and technics: Lapis-lazuli, agate, jasper, opal and gold
Dimensions: H. 51 x w. 13 x d. 10 cm
Inventory number: OGAL125
Acquisition details: Acquired at the Salon de la Société des artistes français in 1905
Room: 16
The Petit Palais owns an important cameo, Autumn, by Georges Lemaire, a sculptor and engraver of precious stones, and two statuettes, one representing Etienne Marcel and the other Immortality (or Silence).
The latter two works demonstrate Lemaire’s taste for semi-precious stones which he liked to select and combine.The iconography of Immortality has links with Symbolist art.
From Burne-Jones to Khnopff, turn of the century artists excelled at depicting pale, slender, untouchable women as allegories for mystery and secrecy. The full-frontal pose of the model is further accentuated by the stylised lines of her clothing, the steadiness of her self-absorbed gaze and the strange movements of her hands which are clasping a crown of laurels, making this display object a fascinating icon, a femme fatale-cum-priestess of an unknown cult.
D. M.
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