Bronze, Vase with Female Nudes by Jean COULON
Bronze, Vase with Female Nudes by Jean COULON
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Bronze vase with a brown patina depicting nude women
Jean Coulon – Foundry Worker, Véry
Jean Coulon (1853–1923)
French sculptor, straddling the line between academic tradition and the revival of the decorative arts
The son of a stonemason, Jean Coulon grew up in an environment where working with materials was second nature to him
In 1876, he enrolled at the École nationale des Beaux-Arts, where he joined the studio of Pierre-Jules Cavelier (1814–1894), one of the leading figures in the great tradition of 19th-century French academic sculpture.
This course explores the mastery of anatomy evident in his figures: the precision of his modeling, his pursuit of elegance in their poses, and his penchant for the female nude, which Coulon frequently combines with allegorical or mythological themes.
Further information
| Dimensions | 27 × 20 × 32 cm |
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He gained recognition particularly quickly.
As early as 1880, he made his debut at the Salon with *The Death of Pyramus*, inspired by Ovid’s *Metamorphoses *. The work immediately earned him a third-class medal and was acquired by the government for the city of Dinan.
In 1886, he presented *Hébé coelestis* at the Salon, a major mythological composition depicting Hébé with Jupiter’s eagle.
This time, the work earned him a second-class medal, and the piece was acquired for the Nice Museum.
In 1894, Coulon collaborated with the great ceramist Pierre-Adrien Dalpayrat, a leading figure in the revival of French stoneware.
Among his works was *La Nuit*, a striking anthropomorphic vase featuring nude female figures clinging to the sides of the urn.
This collaboration highlights Coulon's modernity: the sculpture is no longer simply placed on an object; it becomes the object itself.
Our vase is a beautiful example of Jean Coulon's transition from academic sculpture to decorative experimentation in the late 19th century.
The composition is centered around a vase with a generously bulging body and a very slender neck. But Coulon completely subverts the object’s traditional function by incorporating two nude women who literally embrace its silhouette.
The model's appeal lies precisely in this convergence of two sensibilities.
The female figures still reflect Coulon’s academic training under Cavelier: carefully modeled anatomies, the sensuality of the flesh, the elegance of the poses, and a taste for an idealized nude inherited from the mythological tradition.
But the overall design is much more modern.
The lines become sinuous and asymmetrical; the bodies follow the curves of the vase, and the upper part blossoms into an organic shape.