Louis Botinelly, "Francine" — Patinated Plaster Profile

Louis Botinelly, "Francine" — Patinated Plaster Profile

France | First Half of the 20th Century

A young woman in profile, cut in low relief on a squared plaster panel and patinated a warm terracotta. She faces left with a short bob curving in at the jaw and her chin fractionally lifted. The modelling of the hair has been left frankly visible, so you can still read the direction of the tool through it, and the whole thing has the unhurried confidence of a sculptor working small for his own reasons. Her name is cut into the plinth along the lower edge: FRANCINE.

Louis Botinelly (1883-1962) was born at Digne-les-Bains and worked from an atelier on the rue Buffon in Marseille. He worked in public commissions in France. He also entered the art competitions at the 1932 Olympic Games. This panel is the other half of that life, made at studio scale and finished to pass for terracotta.

Plasters of this kind were the working currency of a sculptor's studio rather than finished goods, and they wear accordingly. The patina is rubbed through to white here and there, and the edges and plinth carry chips from handling. It reads as an object that was kept and moved and lived alongside, which is most of its charm. A steel hanging ring is fitted at the top edge.

Details

• Artist: Louis Botinelly (1883-1962)
• Title: Francine, incised on the plinth
• Material: Plaster, patinated in imitation of terracotta
• Dimensions: 9.5 in high x 7.75 in wide (24 x 19.5 cm)
• Form: Bas-relief panel with hanging ring at the top edge
• Condition: Wear and chipping consistent with a studio plaster, including losses to the patinated surface and chips to the edges and plinth