Aristide Maillol
Aristide Maillol (April 8, 1861, Banyuls-sur-Mer,
Roussillon—September 27, 1944, Banyuls-sur-Mer) was a French
Catalan sculptor and painter.
He studied in Paris, under renowned teacher Antoine Bourdelle and
at the École des Beaux Arts.
In the history of Modern art, Maillol's figurative stylization
is perceived as an important precursor to the even greater simplifications
of Henry Moore and Alberto Giacometti. But in the broader history
of sculpture in the 20th century, he is known for a new kind of
dream-like classicism that would set a standard for European (and
American) figure sculpture until the end of World War II.
The paintings of his contemporaries Pierre Puvis de Chavannes and
Paul Gauguin gave direction to his early work in tapestry at Banyuls
and eventually his later career in sculpture, begun at age 40.
He died in a car accident. While driving home during a rain shower,
the car in which he was a passenger skidded off the road and overturned.
Dina Vierny, Maillol's companion during the last 10 years of his
life, established the Maillol Museum in Paris.
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