La Source

Art Historical Context

Nestled in the Art Institute of Chicago's collection of European painting and sculpture, *La Source* (The Source), created by French sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse in 1864, captivates with its intimate scale and tactile warmth. This terracotta statuette, measuring 46.4 × 54.6 × 27.9 cm, embodies the mid-19th-century fascination with mythological and natural themes, evoking a serene water nymph or spring goddess— a motif rooted in classical antiquity yet refreshed through Romantic sensibilities. Carrier-Belleuse, a master of decorative sculpture during France's Second Empire, blended neoclassical elegance with emerging realist tendencies, often crafting preliminary models like this one to refine forms for larger commissions. Terracotta, an unfired clay medium prized for its earthy versatility, allowed him to capture fluid drapery and subtle modeling with remarkable immediacy, highlighting the material's role in sculptors' workshops as both sketch and finished work. Displayed as a statuette, *La Source* offers a window into the era's artistic experimentation, bridging academic traditions and modern expressiveness. Its compact presence invites visitors to appreciate the sculptor's hand in every curve, a testament to Carrier-Belleuse's enduring influence on 19th-century French art.

About the Artist

Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse · 1824–1887

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