The River

myminifactory

The unpredictable turbulence and twisting motion of The River are unusually prevalent in Maillol's sculpture. Unlike many artists of his time who sought to capture the dynamism of twentieth-century life, Maillol typically aimed for an art of calmness and stillness, of timeless elegance and simplicity. As recently as 1937, he even stated, "For my taste, there should be as little movement as possible in sculpture." Yet just a short time later he had conceptualized The River, a work that is almost recklessly dynamic. Commissioned to create a monument for the renowned pacifist writer Henri Barbusse, Maillol envisioned the sculpture as a piece on the theme of war: a woman attacked from behind and falling. When the commission was canceled, he reimagined the idea into The River. Breaking with traditional conventions of monumental sculpture, the figure lies close to the ground and rests seemingly precariously on its base, even hanging below its edge. Twisting and turning, her raised arms suggest the force of a powerful current, making this woman the embodiment of flowing water.