Aristide de Maillol and Lucien de Samosate

ARISTIDE DE MAILLOL (France, 1861 - 1944). and LUCIEN DE SAMOSATE (Greece, 2nd century AD).
"Dialogues of the Courtesans".
Book translated from the Greek by Charles Astruc with 35 lithographed illustrations of female nudes by Maillol.
Limited edition. Copy 51 of 275.
In very good condition. Presents dedication.
Measurements: 40 x 40 cm (each sheet).

Painter, sculptor and engraver, Maillol demonstrates from very young his fondness for drawing, painting his first picture at the age of thirteen. In 1882 he traveled to Paris where, after several attempts, in 1885 he was admitted to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He began his career in painting, but from 1895 he turned to sculpture and at the same time became interested in tapestry. In spite of the acceptance of his tapestries, their execution affected his eyesight, forcing him to abandon this art for good. From then on he devoted himself almost exclusively to sculpture. Strongly influenced by his friend Gauguin, his sculptures have a character both solemn and simple, with a great balance and always on geometric compositions, focusing on the female nude. In 1902 he made his individual debut in the Parisian gallery of André Vollard, and the following year he met his most important patron, the German Count Harry Kessler. In 1905 he achieved success at the Salon d'Automne in Paris, and from then on he held numerous exhibitions in Paris, New York, Berlin and Chicago. He also illustrated several books. In 1923 he received his first commission from the French State, and in 1933 a great retrospective was dedicated to his work in the Swiss city of Bâle. Four years later another one was dedicated to him in Paris, at the Petit Palais. During this period he also made several monuments for various French and German cities. Maillol is currently represented in the museum that bears his name in Paris, as well as in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Louvre and Orsay in Paris, the Metropolitan and MoMA in New York, the Neue Pinakothek in Munich, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, the Courtlau Institute of Art and the Tate Gallery in London, the Kunstmuseum in Basel, the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo, the Belvedere Gallery in Vienna and the Kimnell Museum in Fort Worth (Texas), among many others.