Aristide Maillol (1861-1944)

Aristide Maillol was born in December 1861 in Banyuls-sur-Mer and died in September 1944 in the same town at the age of 82. Passionate about art since his early childhood, he decided at the age of 15 that he would become a painter. When the young man entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1885, he studied under the direction of artists Jean-Paul Laurens, Gérôme and Cabanel. Aristide Maillol then opened himself to other disciplines such as tapestry and sculpture. The artist regularly exhibited several of his tapestries at the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. Aristide Maillol was nevertheless best known as one of the most talented sculptors of his time.