The Dance at The Fine Arts Museum in Brussels, Belgium

myminifactory

François-Raoul Larche (1860 Saint-André-de-Cubzac - 1912 Paris) was a French Art Nouveau sculptor whose impressive works included several figures of Christ, but he may be most famous for his numerous female figures, both nude and draped. He was one of the many artists inspired by the dancer Loie Fuller; one of his most well-known statues depicts Fuller dancing with part of her drapery flowing above and behind her head like a flame. Another highly-recommended sculpture is Les Violettes, which shows a group of nude children wrapped in flower stems and leaves, surrounded by an older girl who may be their mother or older sister. They are all wearing petal bonnets, suggesting that they represent the spirits of flowers.