Raoul François Larche (1860-1912): This is the original period vintage casting and one of the most famous and iconic Expressions of the Art Nouveau style. This sculpture/lamp was selected to be the cover of the Museum Of Modern Art Book which was published for their exposition of Art Nouveau works. The sculpture/lamp depicts dancer Loïe Fuller, modeled with flowing robes to form a Lamp. Gilt bronze, signed ‘Raoul Larche’ and with the Siot-Decauville foundry stamp. François-Raoul Larche was a French Art Nouveau sculptor. Best known for his depictions of figures both nude and draped, as well as for his functional objects such as lamps, goblets, and ashtrays, Larche’s sculptures are characterized by fluid lines and swirling forms. Many of his best-known works were inspired by the dancer Loïe Fuller, a popular entertainer in Paris who performed while wearing elaborate, flowing dresses to enhance her twirling dance techniques—and who was also similarly immortalized by the painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Born in 1860 in Saint-André-de-Cubzac, France, Larche went on to study at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The sculptor’s work can now be found in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the St. Louis Museum of Art, among others. Larche died in 1912 in Paris, France. 18 in. high.
