Guy Le Perse
Torso of a Young Woman – Patinated sculpture
Guy Le Perse
Torso of a Young Woman in an Arched Pose
Date : c. XXI
Dimensions : H : 44 cm
place of production: France
Material : patinated resin
Condition : Perfect
Conditions & disponibilité: The original bronze sculpture is produced in 8 numbered editions, plus 4 artist's proofs. A certificate of authenticity signed by the artist is provided to the buyer – one edition remains available. Price of the bronze sculpture: €7,000.
3 000 €
Description
of work
Torso of a Young Woman in an Arched Pose
This powerful and sensual piece depicts the arched torso of a young woman, without arms, legs, or head. The artist, Guy Le Perse, presents a female silhouette held in tension, frozen in an expressive arch where the contours of the bust, hips, and buttocks are delicately revealed.
The material, a carefully patinated resin, evokes the strength of bronze. The work combines anatomical precision with expressive momentum, revealing a deep understanding of the female body through firm modeling, dynamic hollows, and a perfectly articulated musculature.
With its frontal stance, pronounced curve, and absence of limbs, the sculpture asserts itself as an autonomous form — somewhere between an archaeological fragment and a modern artistic gesture.
"Ce pur torse de femme aux bras nus balancés Comme un lys qui s’incline au vent de la lumière..." Paul Valéry — La jeune parque
Guy Le Perse
Roubaix (France) 1953
The sculptor Guy Le Perse was trained at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Industries Textiles in Roubaix and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Douai. He studied under the sculptor Armand DEBEVE—serving as a model for some of his works—and the painter and engraver Auguste-Jean GAUDIN. From his mentors, he inherited a deep personal discipline in mastering both technique and execution.
A complete and accomplished artist, equally skilled in engraving and painting, Guy Le Perse worked for many years with prestigious clients. While pursuing sculpture as a personal and almost philosophical practice, he also taught in applied arts and fine arts schools in northern France.
Shortly before the year 2000, he chose to devote himself entirely to sculpture. Guy Le Perse has since developed a powerful and profound figurative body of work, firmly rooted in the grand tradition of French statuary—one of the richest and most celebrated in the world.
Through his work, he carries forward the excellence of French sculpture, brought to its height by illustrious artists such as Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux and Auguste Rodin, and restores it to its rightful place.
Drawing from the foundations and mysteries of the human soul, as revealed in great myths and foundational texts, Guy Le Perse has given birth to a timeless body of work of striking beauty, blending strength and delicacy.
Fiercely independent throughout his professional life, he remains equally detached from the trends of his time. The sculptures of Guy Le Perse follow no fashion or artistic movement—they exist beyond time. Uncompromising with his era, his works speak of the human condition with the same tragic resonance to the man of yesterday as they will to the one who contemplates them a thousand years from now.
A perfectionist and demanding craftsman, Guy Le Perse personally oversees every step of the bronze-making process—except for the casting itself. With equal precision, he masters live model sculpting, chiseling, and patina work, following each sculpture through to its finest detail.
the work
in its context
This work belongs to the direct lineage of the great masters of Western statuary. Guy Le Perse, a contemporary sculptor influenced by Auguste Rodin and Michelangelo, revisits the theme of the fragment by infusing it with tension.
The echo of Rodin is particularly striking: Guy Le Perse’s arched torso explicitly references the 1909 piece Arched Torso of a Young Woman, itself derived from the famous figure of The Crouching Woman (La Damnée foudroyée). Like Rodin, Le Perse isolates a fragment of the body and transforms it into a complete, expressive, autonomous, and almost dramatic form.
The kinship with Michelangelo is evident in the sculptural treatment of mass, the sense of volume, and the artist’s taste for the human form—both idealized and incarnate. Here, the torso becomes the vessel of a silent emotion, shaped by tension and balance.
This work by Guy Le Perse, a contemporary French artist, stands as a remarkable example of contemporary sculpture inspired by the classical masters—at the crossroads of academic nude and modern expressive sculpture.
sources
Exposition – Guy Le Perse – Paris, Hôtel George V – 01/06/2003 – 30/06/2003
Exposition – Guy Le Perse – Lambersart, Le Colysée – 11/11/2005 – 08/01/2006
Exposition – Art-Up ! – Lille, Grand Palais – 28/02/2019 – 03/03/2019