La Source After Auguste Moreau c1900 French Bronze Celebrating Feminine Harmony
La Source — A Belle Époque French Bronze After Auguste Moreau, Circa 1900
An Allegory of Water, Purity and Feminine Grace
Highlights
• Elegant allegorical bronze from the French Belle Époque tradition.
• Depicts La Source as a graceful young woman surrounded by flowing drapery.
• Created after a sculptural model associated with Auguste Moreau.
• Classical modelling enriched by the fluid lines of early Art Nouveau.
• Original-style brown-green patina with warm bronze highlights.
• Presented on a contrasting black marble plinth.
• Substantial 4.7 kg weight and refined 43 cm height.
• Beautifully conceived for viewing from every angle.
• An evocative decorative sculpture for a traditional or contemporary interior.
Introduction
La Source is a poetic French School bronze exploring the eternal connection between the female figure, flowing water and the renewal of nature.
Dating from approximately 1900, the sculpture presents a young woman turning gently as she draws a cascade of fabric around her body. The drapery rises, falls and circles through the composition like moving water, lending animation to the figure’s calm, classical pose.
Its warm brown-green patina and dark marble base give the sculpture a beautifully established character. Soft golden highlights emerge where the patina has naturally worn across the raised surfaces, adding depth and definition to the modelling.
The sculpture is unsigned and has been catalogued as after Auguste Moreau through comparison with the model and the broader sculptural vocabulary associated with his work.
Catalogue Details
Artist designation: After Auguste Moreau.
Nationality: French School.
Title: La Source, also translated as The Spring.
Date: Circa 1900.
Period: Belle Époque.
Style: Classical allegory with Art Nouveau influence.
Material: Bronze with a brown-green patina.
Mounting: Black marble base, believed original.
Signature or foundry mark: None identified.
Height: 43 cm.
Weight: Approximately 4.7 kg.
Catalogue Note
The sculpture rewards examination in the round.
Viewed from the front, the figure’s modest turn and downward-flowing fabric create an impression of serenity. From the side, the projecting arm and layered drapery reveal the composition’s depth. From behind, the twisting movement becomes more apparent as the fabric wraps around the body.
The modelling is soft without losing anatomical definition. Smooth areas of exposed skin are balanced by deeply folded drapery, producing a lively sculptural surface.
This contrast between repose and motion is central to the work’s appeal. The figure remains calm and self-contained, while the fabric surrounding her appears to move like a continuous stream.
The Meaning of La Source
Allegorical representations of springs and fountains have a long history in European art.
Water was associated with life, fertility, cleansing and renewal. Artists frequently personified its source as a youthful woman whose physical beauty expressed the purity and abundance of the natural world.
During the 19th century, the subject acquired renewed importance. Ingres’s celebrated La Source of 1856 presented an idealised female nude holding an overflowing vessel, establishing an influential visual expression of purity and flowing water.
The present bronze does not directly reproduce Ingres’s composition, but it participates in the same allegorical tradition. Here, it is the sweeping drapery rather than a vessel that evokes the movement of a spring.
Auguste Moreau and the Moreau Tradition
Auguste Moreau (1834–1917) came from an accomplished family of sculptors based originally in Dijon.
His work became widely admired for its lyrical figures, idealised beauty and skilful combination of academic modelling with romantic expression. Female allegories, youthful figures and flowing fabrics appeared regularly within his sculptural repertoire.
His compositions appealed strongly to Belle Époque collectors and were produced in different materials and sizes for display within cultivated domestic interiors.
A substantially larger signed bronze entitled La Source is recorded under Auguste Moreau’s name. The present 43 cm example is unsigned, and no direct documentary evidence links its manufacture to the artist’s studio. The appropriate catalogue description is consequently “After Auguste Moreau.”
French Sculpture Around 1900
French decorative sculpture at the turn of the century occupied a fascinating position between tradition and modernity.
Classical subjects, idealised anatomy and allegorical narratives remained popular, but artists increasingly introduced the organic movement and sinuous silhouettes associated with Art Nouveau.
La Source demonstrates this transition particularly well. The figure is classical in conception, while the curling fabric creates an animated, almost botanical rhythm.
The result is neither a purely academic sculpture nor an entirely modern Art Nouveau design. Instead, it expresses the decorative richness and stylistic variety of the Belle Époque.
Surface and Colour
The patina combines warm brown, olive-green and subtly golden tones.
Dark colour remains within the recessed folds, while natural rubbing has revealed brighter bronze across prominent areas of the arm and shoulder. This tonal variation strengthens the sense of depth and records the sculpture’s age and history of handling.
Minor pores and surface flecks remain visible upon close inspection. These characteristics form part of the casting’s individual surface rather than detracting from its overall decorative effect.
The Marble Base
The sculpture stands upon a shaped black marble base believed to be original.
Its polished dark surface anchors the figure and provides a strong contrast with the warmer bronze. The base also gives the sculpture a compact architectural finish suitable for display upon a console table, pedestal, mantelpiece or cabinet.
Minor chips and wear are present in keeping with age.
Provenance
Private collection.
Subsequently curated and catalogued by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®.
Dimensions and Weight
Overall height: 43 cm / 16.9 inches.
Base width: 12.5 cm / 4.9 inches.
Base depth: 11 cm / 4.3 inches.
Maximum width of the figure: 14.5 cm / 5.7 inches.
Weight: Approximately 4.7 kg / 10.4 lb.
Measurements are approximate.
Condition Report
The bronze remains in good original condition and displays attractively from all sides.
Its brown-green patina is well established and generally even, with warm bronze visible where the surface has rubbed naturally across the higher areas of the arm and shoulder.
Minor casting pores, small surface flecks and gentle signs of handling can be seen upon close inspection.
The black marble base displays surface wear and a number of small age-related chips. No cracks or repairs have been identified during visual examination.
The sculpture retains its stability, rich colour and overall visual integrity.
Please refer to the photographs for the fullest representation of its condition.
Shipping
Worldwide shipping is available.
The bronze will be professionally packed and fully insured. Particular care will be taken to protect the figure’s projecting elements and the edges of the marble base.
Additional photographs, condition information and individual delivery quotations are available upon request.
Attribution & Research Notice
The historical observations, provenance research, attribution analysis and contextual commentary presented within this catalogue entry represent the professional opinion of Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®. They are offered in good faith as informed scholarly assessments based upon the available evidence, comparative research, published reference material and our experience within the international fine art market.
These observations should be understood as professional opinions rather than definitive statements of fact or guarantees of authorship, attribution, date, origin, provenance or historical interpretation. As with all historic works of art, future documentary discoveries, technical examination, conservation analysis or advances in academic research may refine, expand or revise current interpretations.
Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®
Specialising in carefully curated British and European fine art, antiques and historic works of art.
Every artwork is professionally researched and catalogued using comparative scholarship, published reference material and over two decades of experience within the international fine art market. We are committed to offering collectors works of artistic and historical merit, accompanied by transparent provenance research, accurate catalogue descriptions and a professional, client-focused service.
We are always pleased to answer questions, provide additional photographs or discuss any artwork in greater detail.
