Aimé-Jules Dalou (French, 1838–1902)
The Woman of Boulogne
Bronze with green patina, 24 3/4 x 7 7/8 x 6 5/8 in.
Signed on base back top: Dalou
Foundry mark on base back bottom edge center: SUSSE F^res PARIS …rcue
Foundry mark on base bottom right: SUSSE FRÈRES EDITEURS PARIS.
Inscribed on base bottom right: Susse F^es E^Jes Paris
Gift of Tracy and Laurel Pulvers
2014.5

Best known for his public monuments in Paris, in 1870 Dalou began to create statuettes of women. During his exile in London from 1871 to 1879, he executed a series of women from Boulogne—a theme made popular by the paintings of Alphonse Legros, who also lived in England at the same time. The original composition, entitled Palm Sunday at Boulogne, was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1872 and purchased by George Howard, later Earl of Carlisle. A girl returning from church, clasps a prayer book and a branch of leaves, indicating the Palm Sunday mass. In London, Dalou frequently exhibited at the Royal Academy and taught at the National Art Training School in South Kensington (later the Royal College of Art), where he had a profound influence on the development of British sculpture.