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4 - Lucienne GILLET-DUVAL (1883–1962).
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Estimate €5,000 - €6,000
Sale commission
Description
Lucienne GILLET-DUVAL (1883–1962). Viviane, the Lady of the Lake, 1907 Plaster Signed and dated ‘L. Gillet / 1907’ H. 172 cm Inscribed on the front: ‘VIVIANE LA DAME DU LAC’ Minor damage and losses, dust and soiling Provenance: the artist’s studio in Voutenay-sur-Cure; then by inheritance; remained in the family’s possession following the sale of the house in 1979; subsequently in a private collection Exhibited: 1907 Salon of the Société nationale des beaux-arts, under no. 1917 This work belongs, in terms of style, to the tradition of the Salon academic nude — closely resembling the ‘Bather’ or ‘Nymph Emerging from the Bath’ types: idealised yet naturalistic anatomy, drapery held in place by the hand, head turned slightly, hair centred and drawn back. The title refers to the fairy Viviane, the Lady of the Lake from the Arthurian legends — the one who gives Excalibur to Arthur, raises Lancelot and ultimately imprisons Merlin under a spell — in a spirit still characteristic of the fin de siècle, which drew inspiration from medieval literature (cf. Jean Dampt and his bust of Perceval, exhibited at the Salon as early as 1905). In the work itself, however, the body bears no narrative attributes — neither sword, nor water, nor grimoire, nor Merlin… The legendary title seems tacked on to a conventional academic nude, evoking the legend through poetic association rather than a desire to illustrate a specific episode. Indeed, this is the same young woman who had served as a model the previous year for the seated figure of Palès. The review in *Le Ménestrel* of 11 May 1907 places Lucienne Gillet’s entry within a lengthy critical survey of the Salon, amongst the works of prestigious artists: “by Saint-Marceaux, Kafka, Bourdelle, Bartholomé, Schnegg, Halou and Rodin”, and adds: “a deliberately sketchy style that is rather appealing in Mme Lucienne Gillet’s *Viviane*, standing by the lake. ’ This description places the work, in the eyes of a contemporary critic, within the trend towards the simplification of forms that characterised sculpture in the years 1905–1907 — the very same trend that Maillol pioneered with *Femme* (later *Méditerranée*), exhibited at the 1905 Salon d’Automne. Gillet does not take this simplification as far as Maillol, but the parallel suggested by the critics of the time confirms that she was experimenting, within the still-conventional framework of the Salon nude, with this same attempt at stylisation. A deposit of 10 per cent of the low estimate will be required for each lot in this sale. Please contact our office.
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About the sale CLAUDEL, GILLET-DUVAL and a few abstract works
Auction location
Auction time 09/20/2026 at 3:00 PM
Ref. : 26341 - 4
Lot description modified on 08/25/2026 at 3:03 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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