Aristide Maillol

Aristide Maillol (April 8, 1861, Banyuls-sur-Mer, Roussillon—September 27, 1944, Banyuls-sur-Mer) was a French Catalan sculptor and painter.

He studied in Paris, under renowned teacher Antoine Bourdelle and at the École des Beaux Arts.

In the history of Modern art, Maillol's figurative stylization is perceived as an important precursor to the even greater simplifications of Henry Moore and Alberto Giacometti. But in the broader history of sculpture in the 20th century, he is known for a new kind of dream-like classicism that would set a standard for European (and American) figure sculpture until the end of World War II.

The paintings of his contemporaries Pierre Puvis de Chavannes and Paul Gauguin gave direction to his early work in tapestry at Banyuls and eventually his later career in sculpture, begun at age 40.

He died in a car accident. While driving home during a rain shower, the car in which he was a passenger skidded off the road and overturned. Dina Vierny, Maillol's companion during the last 10 years of his life, established the Maillol Museum in Paris.