A Mountain on the Hill
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The sculpture of a nude has taken residence in front of the Graham Gund Gallery.
"La Montagne" ("The Mountain") by Aristide Maillol is No. 3 in an edition of six cast in lead. The artist completed work on the figure in 1937 in Marly-le-Roi, France, and the lead casts were made later, around 1944. "The Mountain" weighs 2,500 pounds. The sculpture is inscribed with the artist's monogram "M" and the foundry mark, "E. Godard Fondeur, Paris."
Maillol (1861-1944) used the female body as the subject for most of his work.
Natalie Marsh, director of the Graham Gund Gallery, appreciates an historical tie among public sculptures on the campus. "Aristide Maillol explored numerous media and genres, from painting to tapestry design, but it his commanding repertoire of bronze and lead female nudes — like 'The Mountain' that now graces the entrance to the Gund Gallery—that ultimately defined his career," she said. "Maillol's figurative explorations influenced many 20th century sculptors, including Henry Moore, whose impressive 'Large Spindle Piece' is thoughtfully sited in our Science Quad."
The sculpture is on loan from the collection of Graham and Ann Gund. Graham Gund '63 is the president of the Gund Partnership, the architectural firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Gund Partnership designed the Gund Gallery as well as several other buildings on the Kenyon campus, including the Kenyon Athletic Center.