Woman (Elevation) c. 1912 - 1927

Gaston Lachaise made this bronze sculpture called ‘Woman (Elevation)’; it’s currently housed at the Art Institute of Chicago. The surface has a smooth, almost liquid quality, as if the bronze is still in the process of solidifying. Look at how the light glides across the curves of her body. I am struck by the gesture of her hands, raised in a kind of welcoming openness. This detail reveals the process of modeling in clay before casting in bronze. The way the light reflects makes me think of the earlier sculpture of Rodin, but Lachaise has taken it somewhere else entirely. There's a sensuality here, a celebration of the female form that feels both classical and totally modern. It’s like Lachaise is having a conversation with art history, twisting and turning its assumptions into something new. It's a reminder that art is always evolving, always in dialogue with the past and present.