Aristide Maillol

French ceramicist, tapestry-maker, painter and sculptor, Aristide Maillol was one of the leading figurative sculptors of his time. Best known for his classical and simplified depictions of the female nude, a subject that captivated the artist throughout his artistic life, Maillol drew inspiration from Greek and Roman sculpture, as well as from more modern sources including the work of Paul Cezanne, Paul Gaugin and the Nabis, a group he joined early on in his career. Maillol shared with the Nabis an interest in the basic aesthetic and decorative properties of visual art, this concern manifest in all of his work, regardless of media. Successful in his lifetime, Maillol's work was collected both in France and abroad, and he received a number of major public commissions, including for several French war memorials.