Nubian Dancer, 1925
Demetre Chiparus (1886-1947)
Patinated, gilt and cold-painted bronze, ivory, marble base
Demetre Chiparus was born in 1888 in Dorohoi, Romania. In 1909, he went to Italy to study under Raffaello Raomanelli and in 1912, he traveled to Paris to attend the Ecole des Beaux Arts to pursue his art under instructors Antonin Mercie and Jean Boucher. He first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1914 but he rarely was found showing there. His first series of sculptures was of children and his most prominent pieces are from 1914-1933. Many of his pieces were obviously influenced by Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, ancient Egyptian art, and French theatre and motion pictures. His female figures often had long legs and a slender build, which seemed to be influenced by Russian dancers. Demetre Chiparus died in 1947, suffering a stroke on returning from studying animals at the zoo in Vincennes.
Chiparus is known as one of the top designers from the art deco period and utilized the chryselephantine method, encompassing the use of bronze and ivory. Nubian Dancer was created in this style and includes the Etling foundry mark.