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Nymph drying her hair

1761–63
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 549
Vassé's model for this figure was exhibited at the Salon of 1761. The wall fountain was completed between 1761 and 1763 at the behest of the Duc de Chevreuse for the entrance hall of his Château de Dampierre, where it remained until the early twentieth century.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Nymph drying her hair
  • Artist: Louis Claude Vassé (French, Paris 1716–1772 Paris)
  • Date: 1761–63
  • Culture: French, Paris
  • Medium: Nymph: white marble: base, basin and console: gray-veined marble; serpents: bronze, with remains of gilding
  • Dimensions: Height (overall): 8 ft. 6 1/2 in. (260.4 cm); Height (figure): 59 in. (149.9 cm); Height (console): 21 1/2 in. (54.6 cm); Height (basin): 71 1/4 in. (181 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Josephine Bay Paul and C. Michael Paul Foundation Inc. Gift, Charles Ulrick and Josephine Bay Foundation Inc. Gift, and Rogers Fund, 1971
  • Object Number: 1971.205
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
More Artwork
Flora, Louis Claude Vassé  French, Red terracotta, buff colored wash over grey paint, French, Paris
Louis Claude Vassé
1764
Bassoon, Dominique Antony Porthaux  French, Maple, brass, French
Dominique Antony Porthaux
1790–1800
Mantel clock with musical movement, Jean-Baptiste-André Furet  French, Case: gilded and lacquered bronze and marble; Movement (in bust): brass and steel with enameled hour and minute chapter rings (in head); Miniature organ with pipes and bellows (in base): brass, steel, and leather, French, Paris
Clockmaker: Jean-Baptiste-André Furet
ca. 1784
April from a set of The Months of Lucas, Master of the Months of Lucas  Netherlandish, Wool, silk (20-21 warps per inch, 8-9 per cm.), French, Paris
Multiple artists/makers
designed ca. 1535, woven 1732–37
Venus Teaching Cupid to Use His Bow, Louis Claude Vassé  French, Red chalk; framing lines in pen and black ink
Louis Claude Vassé
18th century

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