The Source Muse by Jean-Baptiste Hugues

The gilded bronze sculpture ‘The Muse of the Source’ is representative of the Symbolist movement, where the beauty of the female body and the natural elements merge to evoke an allegory of inspiration and creation.

A nude woman with a slender body and harmonious forms seems to be emerging from the source. The gilding covering her body reinforces the impression of radiance and fluidity, as if the figure itself were an incarnation of water, the source of life and inspiration. She is seated on the edge of a richly decorated fountain, her right foot resting lightly on a relief, while her left leg is bent, creating a relaxed yet elegant posture.

The fountain is an integral part of the composition, and features decorative motifs in bas-relief, recalling mythological or symbolic scenes, with figures and plant ornaments. This decoration reinforces the idea that the muse is linked to nature and the flowering of the creative spirit. The contrast between the smooth, polished treatment of the muse’s body and the more textured details of the base creates a captivating visual dynamic, drawing the eye to the meticulous details of the work.

Taken as a whole, ‘ The Muse of the Source’ embodies both subtle sensuality and symbolic depth, celebrating the female figure as a source of artistic inspiration, rooted in a world that is both earthly and mythological.

The sculptor Jean Baptiste Hugues exhibited his first model in white Carrara marble (number 3212) of La Muse de la source at the Salon des Artistes Français at the Palais des Champs-Elysées in 1894.
The Musée d’Orsay has a large-scale edition in bronze and marble.

French work circa 1900.
Polychrome patina.
Signed: Jean Hugues.
Foundry stamp: Siot-Decauville.