Photography
MAILLOL
Collection of Aristide Maillol’s Sculptures
It was his encounter with Maillol sculpture that triggered Masuura’s first steps as a photographer. The soft curves of the sculpture’s voluptuous limbs play a beautiful melody and perfect harmony, creating a pleasure in the heart of the viewer. And it enveloped with infinite tenderness to move his heart, who was spending his youth in loneliness and despair in Paris. At that time, one of the works he photographed won a prestigious award in France, Salon d’Automne.
A new fine art was born by transforming the three-dimensional work of sculpture (tangible object) into the two-dimensional (planar) work of photography. Since then, he has continued to photograph the sculptures of post-impressionist masters such as Bourdelle and Rodin, and finally photographed the sculpture of Michelangelo as a culmination.
*Since the works are untitled, replaced with the names of the sculptures of the subject.
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La Rivière (The river)
La Rivière (The river)
Masterpiece of Maillol's later years. It is sculpted as if the flow of water were cut out while reflecting the light at various angles. Or, as it was made as a memorial during the war, it is said that it represents a person who lives hard even while being swallowed by the torrent of the times.
The statue, lying in a deep green field, is numb and supple, like the slow flow of a river.
A photograph that decorates the cover of the Maillol Museum collection. -
La Rivière (The river)
La Rivière (The river)
The torso of La Rivière. Much of Maillol's work expresses the beauty of the female body. Her voluptuous, curvilineous compositions are not found in Rodin or Bourdelle who are also classified as Post-Impressionists.
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L’Air (The air)
L’Air (The air)
Many of Maillol's sculptures take their titles from the natural world. This work is one of them, but without the voluptuousness of Maillol, it seems that the delicate body line expresses the air flowing lightly.
The shadow reflected on the vivid grass becomes a part of the deformed work, and this interesting effect was intentionally shot from the behind using the backlight. -
Le Monument à Cézanne (Commemorative statue for Paul Cézanne)
Le Monument à Cézanne (Commemorative statue for Paul Cézanne)
A sculpture dedicated to the painter Paul Cézanne, who is also popular in Japan. However, due to an internal problem in the city of Aix, the client, the city of Paris bought it.
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L’action enchaîneé (Action in Chains)
L’action enchaîneé (Action in Chains)
Memorial statue for 19th century French socialist Louis-Auguste Blanchi. His figure is proud and ready for the next action, even though his hands are tied behind his back, It symbolizes the desire for freedom of a revolutionist who was imprisoned for a long time.
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La Montagne (The Mountain)
La Montagne (The Mountain)
For the sculptor Maillol, Nature was the fountain of all action and thought, and it was his special and sole object of worship. And the female body was a symbol of order and harmony, peace and beauty of Nature. Many of his female figures are titled by names of the various phenomena in nature, and this work “The Mountain” is one of them.
Masuura won the Salon d'Automne for capturing the close-up of the face of this work. -
La nymphe (the nymph)
La nymphe (the nymph)
An homage to the youth and beauty of women.
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La Nuit (The Night)
La Nuit (The Night)
One of the most famous of Maillol's early works.
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Ile-de-France
Ile-de-France
Ile-de-France is the name of an ancient French province whose capital is Paris. A fertile land surrounded by three rivers, the Seine, the Marne and the Oise. Maillol adored this land, comparing its nature to the female body.
The image of a young woman is very fresh as if she had just been born from the earth. -
Le Monument à Cézanne (Commemorative statue for Paul Cézanne)
Le Monument à Cézanne (Commemorative statue for Paul Cézanne)
Taken with the famous clock of the Musée d'Orsay in the background. The statue, which has a turbulent collection process, is now quietly watching the passage of time.
Click on the photo to see the individual portfolios.