A large french patinated bronze figure of the water nymph Ondine

Placed on a black marble pedestal, this patinated bronze sculpture depicts the water nymph 'Ondine.' An enduring figure in the European mythological tradition, Ondine is an immortal water deity who becomes human and mortal upon falling in love with a man. First appearing in alchemical writings of Paracelsus as a group of beings related to the sea, Ondine has since been developed into a character in her right, very much a product of a long literary tradition and still kept alive in fairy-tales and stories today. This sensitive and interesting sculpture, signed 'JF' (unknown) and dated 1874, shows the nymph wringing her hair with her right hand, and holding her dress up with her left. Her pose is contorted, and her clothing uneven, which hangs heavily upon her body, seemingly soaked with water. The sculptor has arranged his composition around the long curving arc that extends from her raised hand down the right side of her torso to her feet. The patina of the bronze gives it a wonderful texture that aids the sculpture's naturalism, and overall the piece reads as an excellent study of the female form.