Bather – A Refined Sculpture in Carrara Marble by Cipriani Ugo di Meneville

Bathed in the ethereal radiance of Carrara marble, Bather by Cipriani Ugo di Meneville (1887-1960) stands as a delicate meditation on femininity, a synthesis of classical refinement and early 20th-century sensibility. Standing 70 cm tall, this sculpture embodies a vision where controlled sensuality and introspection coexist in harmonious balance. In the gentle elegance of her posture, the subtle tilt of her head, and the fluid fall of the drapery she holds in one hand, she evokes the timeless grace of Antiquity, while whispering the refined aesthetic of modernity.
At first glance, Bather is part of the great classical tradition, drawing on the perfection of Greco-Roman statuary and the formal rigor of the 19th-century École des Beaux-Arts. Her contrapposto, this slight inclination of the body with a marked support on one leg, gives her silhouette a natural fluidity, a distant echo of Canova's neoclassical muses. But within this sculptural vocabulary inherited from the past, Di Meneville infuses a softened intimacy: her gaze lowered, absorbed in a distant thought, her delicate fingers brushing her chin in an involuntary gesture of reverie. The fabric, suspended from her hand, is neither a theatrical ornament nor a simple accessory, but a discreet symbol of modesty, a subtle play between veiling and unveiling, reminiscent of the muted eroticism characteristic of Art Deco sculpture.
If the composition exalts the timeless ideal, it is the sculptor's work that breathes life into the stone. Carved from Carrara marble, a material prized for its finesse and natural luminosity, Bather seems to escape gravity, offering the unsettling illusion of skin caressed by light. Every curve of the body, every delicate contour of the muscles and flesh is treated with infinite precision, giving the impression that the sculpture breathes, shivers beneath the gaze. The play of light and shadow on the polished surfaces accentuates the delicacy of the forms, elevating the work beyond mere representation, giving it an almost immaterial aura. The sculptor's hand is revealed in the infinitely meticulous details of the fingers, the waves of the hair, the softness of the face, each element revealing a keen sensitivity to gesture and expression.
Yet, Bather is not simply a study of beauty; it is an evocation of silence, of a moment suspended in time. While Carpeaux infused his sculptures with a breath of drama, and Rodin explored the raw roughness of form, Di Meneville chose a more contemplative path. He sculpts not to impress, but to soothe. His figures seek neither action nor heightened emotion; they exist for themselves, absorbed in their own presence, detached from any external narrative. Unlike Maillol, whose abstract approach reduces the female figure to its pure geometry, Di Meneville maintains a delicate naturalism, thus preserving the balance between idealization and profound humanity.
In its execution, Bather stands alongside the neoclassical purity of Canova, the fluid sensuality of Carpeaux, and the silent monumentalism of Maillol. And yet, what distinguishes Di Meneville is his ability to fuse the rigor of classicism with the subtle restraint of modernity. His figures abandon themselves neither to grand mythological gestures nor to conceptual abstractions; they reside in a universe of hushed intimacy, where elegance and modesty respond in perfect harmony. The perfectly polished surface of Bather, far removed from Rodin's expressive textural contrasts, accentuates her aura of purity and serenity, imbuing her with an eternal, immutable, yet intensely personal presence.
Here, then, is a sculpture that does not impose its presence, but whispers it. Bather does not need to dominate space or impose herself through spectacular effect; she exists in the subtlety of an expression, in the silent eloquence of her posture. She is neither myth, nor allegory, nor an inaccessible goddess. She is simply herself, captured in a moment of grace, suspended forever between movement and stillness, between consciousness and dream.

Ref: 38PO607X0L