Bust of a Woman 1851

Curator: The poise and quiet intensity of the figure really strikes me. Editor: Indeed. What we're observing is "Bust of a Woman," a bronze sculpture crafted in 1851 by Charles-Henri-Joseph Cordier, now residing at The Art Institute of Chicago. Curator: Bronze is so telling here; its surface appears both weighty and sensuous, but more than that I find the gaze so compelling, almost as if she's locked in thought, or turned inwards. Editor: That weight, that feeling, comes from the labor embedded within the lost wax casting process. Every mark, every ridge is a testament to the artist's hand, and those of the foundry workers who shaped and molded it. Note the artist’s detailed capturing of her locs or braided hair style that gives texture and an intimacy not always achieved by sculpture during that period. Curator: Absolutely, the formal realism contrasts intriguingly with its ethnographic purpose. Her draped clothing and jewelry become signifying components, adding layers of complexity to the composition. I would love to know the role of colonialism during the advent of such striking artwork? Editor: I couldn’t agree more. Consider also Cordier’s use of patination on the bronze and how the final result gives it a unique look; this approach was part and parcel of bringing into focus artistic intentions about race. One can almost imagine this object existing in a domestic, wealthy interior with colonial trade in mind. It really makes one pause for thought around commerce in 1851. Curator: I am thinking about its lasting formal power – a confluence of realism and idealization rendered in enduring material, which makes for a potent expression on a grand scale. Editor: And I am here just seeing and sensing hands – the material transformations tell volumes, revealing the confluence of skill, labor and a fraught era.