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Modeled 1917; cast by 1961

Bather

Jacques Lipchitz

American (born Lithuania), 1891 - 1973

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The modern forms of this sculpture obscure its traditional subject matter. Scenes of disrobing women are common in the history of public statuary. Responding to both classical sculpture and cubist painting, Lipchitz constructs the figure from intersecting planes that never coalesce into a recognizable anatomy.

Lipchitz compared this reimagination of the human form to Rodin’s fragmented and hybrid bodies in works such as Meditation. Seeing them, he later wrote, "My joy was immense. . . . One needed imagination to complete the figure."

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Resources

Léger: Modern Art and the Metropolis

This resource guide to the exhibition, Léger: Modern Art and the Metropolis (on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art from October 14, 2013, to January 5, 2014) captures the adventurous spirit of Paris in the 1920s through the eyes of painter Fernand Léger (fair-NAHND LE-zhey) and his contemporaries. Its four main themes are: The City in Painting, Advertising, The Performing Arts, and Architecture.
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Jacques Lipchitz, Bather, Modeled 1917; cast by 1961 | Philadelphia Museum of Art