Woman Bathing her Feet

Makerattributed to Barthélemy Prieur (French, 1536 - 1611)

ClassificationsSCULPTURE

Dateca. 1600

Mediumbronze

Dimensions6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm.)

DescriptionThis sculpture portrays a nude female figure, seated on a draped pedestal. Beside her is a vessel of water in which a cloth has been immersed.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Status

On view

Label TextIn the second half of the 16th century, Prieur worked as court sculptor to Duke Emanuel-Philibert of Savoy and to King Henry IV of France. In addition to the celebratory and monumental bronzes he produced for these important patrons, he created a number of small figures of men and women engaged in domestic and other informal activities. These intimate bronzes must have appealed to a wide range of collectors, who would have appreciated their tactile charm. This group (17.8, 17.15-17.20) is one of the finest and largest of Prieur's small bronzes, which Henry Huntington acquired in 1917 from the collection of J.P. Morgan.

Object number17.15