Nu féminin assis “Camelia”

Private Collection, Toronto

Antoniucci Volti, from his real name Voltigero, was a French sculptor, draughtsman and engraver. The son of a stonemason, he pursued his studies in Nice before moving to Paris and entering the studio of Jean Boucher at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts. His works follow in the footsteps of other notable sculptors, such as Auguste Rodin, Antoine Bourdelle and Aristide Maillol. Not unlike Maillol, Volti’s oeuvre celebrated the classic beauty of female bodies, from their voluptuous curves to their tender expressions. Here is depicted a woman with a curly head of hair leaning against her folded arms. She is curled up in repose and appears serene. While her right foot is solidly planted on the ground, her left one instead protrudes outward, thus blurring the line between the work of art and the viewer’s space. Volti successfully transcribed the female figure in bronze while injecting a measure of calm sensuality into his sculptural works, at once both innovative and mesmerizing. His figurative sculptures now feature in various collections worldwide, including the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris and the Fondation Musée Volti in Villefranche-sur-Mer.