Mauresque Noire (Black Moorish Woman)

1856

Charles Cordier French, 1827-1905

Not On View

Mauresque Noire (Black Moorish Woman): 1 of Collection Gallery

Mauresque Noire (Black Moorish Woman): 2 of Collection Gallery

Mauresque Noire (Black Moorish Woman): 3 of Collection Gallery

Mauresque Noire (Black Moorish Woman): 4 of Collection Gallery

Mauresque Noire (Black Moorish Woman): 5 of Collection Gallery

Mauresque Noire (Black Moorish Woman): 6 of Collection Gallery

Mauresque Noire (Black Moorish Woman): 7 of Collection Gallery

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About the Artwork

Charles Cordier was one of the first sculptors to innovatively explore and revive the ancient techniques of polychromed bronzes in the mid-19th century. He chose to dedicate his sculptural talents to representing a "gallery of the human races, in all their variety of beauty", which combined his academic training with his pursuit of ethnography and exoticism.

On 5 April 1856 Cordier was granted a fund of 1000 francs by the Musee d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris to visit Algeria. He chose to live among Algerian in the Casbah and found models among his Algerian neighbors.

Cordier developed and used the recently invented electrolytic technique to create "oxidized silver" as the initial layer beneath the patina to better represent the radiant dark color of African skin. The elegant multi-coloration and the specific green patination are not seen on the other known bronze versions of the model.

This bust was first exhibited in the 1862 London International Exhibition and was illustrated in a color chromolithograph in an 1863 book by J.B. Waring.

Subsequently, this bust was included in the 1865 Paris Sale of Cordier's sculptures which Cordier organized to raise funds for a trip to Egypt. However, it is recorded Cardier bought back only this sculpture (for 1100 francs), indicating the considerable importance he placed on this high-quality cast.

Title Mauresque Noire (Black Moorish Woman)

Artwork Date 1856

Artist Charles Cordier

Life Dates 1827-1905

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. French

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. ----------

Medium Bronze, silvered, gilt, black, brown and green patina

Dimensions Overall: 28 3/4 × 17 1/2 × 10 1/4 inches (73 × 44.5 × 26 cm)

Classification Sculpture

Department European Modern Art to 1970

Credit Museum Purchase, Jill Ford Murray Fund and Mary Adelaide Hester Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 2012.14

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Provenance

(Sotheby's, London, England);
2012-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

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Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

Cordier, Charles. Sculpture Ethnographique: marbres et bronzes d’après divers types des races humaines. Paris, 1857, [not paginated].

About, Edmond. “Exposition Internationale de Londres.” Le Constitutionnel, December 3, 1862, p. 2.

Waring, J.B. Masterpieces of Industrial Art and Sculptures at the International Exhibition 1862, vol. 2. London, 1863, (pl. 145).

Révillon, Jeanine Durand. “Un promoteur de la sculpture polychrome sous le Second Empire, Charlies-Henri-Joseph Cordier (1827–1905).” Bulletin de la Société de l’histoire de l’art français, session of 6th February 1982 (1984): pp. 181-198; p. 193, no. 26.

Margerie, Laure de, and Edouard Papet. Facing the Other: Charles Cordier (1827–1905), Ethnographic Sculptor. Exh. cat., Musée d’Orsay. Paris, 2004, cat. 386.

The Orientalist Sale. Sales cat., Sotheby’s. London, April 24, 2012, p. 36, no. 17.

“Aivazovsky’s Sun-Kissed Constantinople and Cordier’s Dusky Moorish Beauty.” Maine Antique Digest (July 2012): p. 13-D.

Bulletin of the DIA 89, no. 1/4: Notable Acquisitions, 2000-2015 (2015): p. 77 (ill.).

Darr, Alan Phipps, Yao-Fen You, and Megan Reddicks. “Recent Acquisitions (2007-15) of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the Detroit Institute of Arts.” The Burlington Magazine 158 (June 2016): pp. 501-512; p. 509 (ill.).

Margerie, Laure de, and Antoinette Le Normand-Romain. French Sculpture in America: An American Passion. Ghent/France, 2023, p. 461.

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Charles Cordier, Mauresque Noire (Black Moorish Woman), 1856, bronze, silvered, gilt, black, brown and green patina. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, Jill Ford Murray Fund and Mary Adelaide Hester Fund, 2012.14.