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Acrobat accentuates male strength and is a study of the body in balance.

Lachaise's interest in unconventional poses and distortion of forms links him to the Modernist Movement.

The artist is best known for his sculptures of voluptuous female figures.

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Gaston Lachaise

Acrobat, 1928

bronze with brass plating

h. 17 in.

Gift of Phillip L. Goodwin

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Gaston Lachaise was born in Paris to a father who made fine furniture.  Lachaise’s talent was recognized at an early age, and he was sent to the École Bernard Palissy and École des Beaux-Arts to study.  He earned his money by working for the famous Art Nouveau glass designer, René Lalique.  Lachaise began to sculpt works that reflected his interest in Auguste Rodin. He moved to Boston and then to New York where he spent seven years as an assistant to Paul Manship.  His full figured nudes with their small heads and tiny waists become his signature pieces.  In the 1920s Lachaise produced a number of garden sculptures that included dolphins, sea gull and fauns.

Like many artists with French backgrounds, Lachaise found inspiration in the circus and its performers.  Yet, in the hands of this pioneering modernist, the nimble acrobat becomes another essay in monumental human form.  Lachaise’s principal drive as a sculptor was to glorify the sexual and procreative powers of women.  In the Acrobat he accentuates male strength and uses the contorted pose to extend his study of bodies in motion.  An experienced jewelry and ornament designer, Lachaise effectively contrasted the coppery bronze of the acrobat’s costume with the shiny brass tones of his skin.

Reference

Louise Bourgeois.  Gaston Lachiase 1882-1935, The Lachaise Foundation/Gallimard, 2009. ISBN-13: 978-1588211576