An elegant terracotta sculpture depicting a young, nude woman standing against a rocky outcrop draped in fabric. Her supple, slightly swaying pose, her upturned face, and her hair styled in an updo place the work firmly within the academic tradition of the second half of the 19th century.
The smooth, idealized modeling of the body contrasts with the freer treatment of the rock, fabrics, and hair, giving the whole a greater sense of movement. The subject may evoke a nymph, a bather, or a mythological figure.
Terracotta, height 39 cm, good condition.
Signed on the terrace “Van Oemberg”, it dates from the late 19th century, around 1970.
- Artist / Designer:Charles Van Oemberg (1824-1901).
- Signature / Monogram:Signed.
- Period:19th century - End of 19th.
- Country of Origin:Belgium.
- Dimensions (H x W x D):39 x 15 x 11cm.
- Weight:3 Kg.
- Number of components:1.
- Condition:Good.
- Style:Classicism.
- Material:Mineral/Terracotta.
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Price:850 €
Charles Van Oemberg:
Charles Joseph Van Oemberg (1824-1901) was a Belgian sculptor trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels under Louis Jehotte, then in the studio of Charles-Auguste Fraikin. He exhibited at the Salons of Brussels and Antwerp and notably participated in the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1867.
His work lies between late neoclassicism, academic romanticism, and naturalism. His female figures can be compared to those of Fraikin, Charles Van der Stappen, or Léon Gobert in Belgium, and, in France, to sculptors such as Alexandre Falguière or Carrier-Belleuse.
Van Oemberg worked primarily in marble, bronze, and terracotta. In 1883, he became a professor of sculpture at the Academy of Mons. This sculpture, by its subject, material, and format, fits perfectly within the context of late 19th-century Belgian academic sculpture.