Bust of a Child before 1905

This bronze Bust of a Child was made by Aimé-Jules Dalou, and, as with all sculptures, you're really experiencing a process of making. It's like a drawing in three dimensions, isn’t it? The material itself, this polished bronze, has a funny kind of tension. There's a real sense of weight and permanence to it, but the reflections on the surface give it an almost liquid quality. Look at the way Dalou has rendered the boy’s hair: each curl is a flurry of marks, catching the light and giving a sense of movement. And those eyes, they're so full of life. The surface has been worked so that they glint and seem to hold a deep intelligence. This piece is really interesting when we think about Rodin. Both artists were preoccupied with capturing movement and emotion in bronze. But while Rodin is all about rough surfaces and fragmented forms, Dalou's work has this incredible smoothness and clarity. It's like they're having a conversation across time about what sculpture can be.