FR EN
1 / 4
an image of a relief of a group of people in a foresta wooden sculpture of a man laying on a beda piece of luggage that has been left on the tablea piece of paper on a piece of wood with writing on it
Maître Jean Emmanuel PRUNIER

34 - Georges Lacombe (1868–1916). ‘Les femmes damnées’ – reclinin…
See original version (French)

Estimate €8,000 - €10,000
Sale commission
Description
Georges Lacombe (1868–1916). ‘Les femmes damnées’ – reclining damned women. Carved wooden bas-relief, c. 1905–1907, monogram in the bottom right-hand corner. Dimensions: 60 x 29.5 x 4.5 cm. On the reverse, old exhibition and transport labels, including one from Pont-Aven Town Hall: ‘Gauguin and His Friends Exhibition’, Georges Lacombe, *Les femmes damnées*, catalogue no. 98, owner Mr Hepp. This work was exhibited in 1907 at the Galerie Bernheim, Rue Richepanse, in an exhibition of works (paintings and sculptures) by Messrs Bonnard, Maurice Denis, Hermann-Paul, Lacombe, Aristide Maillol, Ranson, K-X Roussel, Sérusier, Valloton and Vuillard, 3–15 June, no. 27. It is reproduced in the catalogue raisonné, p. 122, and Cat. 182a, p. 187. The panel presented here is the first in the series. It depicts *Les Femmes damnées couchées* (*The Damned Women Lying Down*), which refers to the first stanza of Charles Baudelaire’s poem. Here, the artist uses a horizontal format to depict the reclining, entwined bodies of the women. He adopts a refined, symbolist style to evoke the landscape—a sort of paradisiacal natural setting against a ‘background of trees with scaly trunks like those of coconut palms or date palms’—and, within this interweaving of elements, creates a harmony between the flora and the female nudes. In this bas-relief, one can perceive the marks of the sculptor’s work and the full extent of his skill. As the artist’s gouge delves deep into the thickness of the wood, the work becomes more refined; the female figures become more delicate; the artist rounds off the contours of the bodies and, by playing with the wood’s grain, the voluptuous silhouettes and the curves of the bodies are rendered with great sensuality. Bibliographical references: Catalogue raisonné “George Lacombe – 1868–1916” by Joëlle Ansieau, Somogy Edition d’art, 1998.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale TRANSFORMING MATERIALS
Auction location
Auction time 11/08/2026 at 2:00 PM
Lot description modified on 10/15/2026 at 4:30 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like