Fécondité
A French-born sculptor perhaps best known for his powerful sculptures of voluptuous female nudes, such as The Met’s Standing Woman, Lachaise executed this drawing before his move to the United States in 1906. It shows a recumbent female figure held by another figure. Lachaise heavily annotated this image: He proposed as its title "Fécondité" ("Fecundity") in the upper right corner, after apparently rejecting—and crossing out—"Maternité" ("Maternity"). Other annotations, which the artist possibly directed to his future wife, Isabel Dutaud, include (translated here into English):
"there would be a richness of expression and of blessed beauty, to be found in the two faces
[crossed out: "figures"] the eyes looking at one another"
"these are the first tremblings of feeling the forms would not be deformed but lightly
supported"
"the woman would look better, I believe, if she was not lying down so much, her torso could be
a little higher"
"there would be a richness of expression and of blessed beauty, to be found in the two faces
[crossed out: "figures"] the eyes looking at one another"
"these are the first tremblings of feeling the forms would not be deformed but lightly
supported"
"the woman would look better, I believe, if she was not lying down so much, her torso could be
a little higher"
Artwork Details
- Title: Fécondité
- Artist: Gaston Lachaise (American (born France) Paris 1882–1935 New York)
- Date: ca. 1905
- Medium: Ink with graphite on two sheets of paper
- Dimensions: 5 × 7 in. (12.7 × 17.8 cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Gift of Virginia Budny, 2021
- Object Number: 2021.171a, b
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Gaston Lachaise
ca. 1921
Gaston Lachaise
ca. 1906
Gaston Lachaise
1924
Gaston Lachaise
ca. 1920
Gaston Lachaise
ca. 1908
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.