Le Sphinx Mystérieux (1897).
Charles van der Stappen’s most impressive sculptural work and one I missed including in this earlier post. Van der Stappen doesn’t seem to have done anything else like this which is a shame as it’s a very striking fin de siècle image, conveying a sense of enigma without resorting to the usual human/animal hybrids; Sarah Bernhardt would have loved the costume. This picture was swiped from Beautiful Century and Mariana took it from the book with the best reproduction I’ve seen to date, Gabriele Fahr-Becker’s Art Nouveau.
Previously on { feuilleton }
• La belle sans nom
• The Feminine Sphinx
• Le Monstre
• Carlos Schwabe’s Fleurs du Mal
• Empusa
Wow.
Reminds me of an online friend of mine, Marysia Kay.
Fascinating piece!
I happen to own this beautiful book, “Art Nouveau”, where I discovered it.
I am a painter, and presently I am developing the old technique of Byzantine Icons, learning how to apply gold and silver leaf on my paintings…I definitely fell in love with this marvellous sculpture.