Victor Ségoffin (1867-1925)
Torso of the Sacred Dance
Bronze with black patina
Signed and dated "Vtor Segoffin /1903" on the edge of the left arm
Bears a mark with the number I.
H. 45 cm, on a black marble base from Belgium H. 17 cm
Born in Toulouse, Victor Ségoffin is an artist who does not have, nowadays, the notoriety he deserves. Orphaned, he joined the army in 1887 and, stationed in Paris, attended the École des Arts Décoratifs. He won the competitive entrance exam to the National School of Fine Arts where he studied under Cavelier. In 1897 he won the Grand Prix de Rome. As a resident at the Villa Medici from 1897 to 1902, he studied the old masters and affirmed his penchant for the Baroque style. Back in Paris, he exhibited at the Salon des Artistes français with success until his death. His nervous, dynamic and spirited sculpture earned him recognition and numerous public commissions. Among his most prestigious achievements, the monumental groups, The Sacred Dance and The Profane Dance, were commissioned by the State in 1904 to be installed at the Elysée Palace. These two sculptures alone represent all of Ségoffin's art: a symbolist and ambitious art, a baroque and agitated model, all in balance, which extracts the artist from the academic straitjacket. He borrows the know-how of Falguière and approaches the modernity of Rodin. Our bronze is a reduction of the torso of the Sacred Dance, which is no longer kept at the Élysée but is presented to the public in a prominent place at the Musée d'Orsay.
Related works
- Victor Ségoffin, Sacred Dance, 1905, marble, H. 250 x W. 140 x D. 80 cm, Paris, Musée d'Orsay, inv. RF 3686 ;
- Victor Ségoffin, La Danse sacrée, 1903, bronze, H. 63.8 x W. 25 cm x D. 24.5 cm, Toulouse, Musée des Augustins, inv. 48.4.4.
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