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Chris Brooker | all galleries >> The Victoria and Albert Museum: London >> 8th January at The Victoria & Albert Museum. London > Helen Ionides
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08-JAN-2004 Chris Brooker

Helen Ionides

Picture Gallery

Terracotta
By Jules Dalou (1838-1902)
Anglo-French; 1879
Given by Miss Helen Ionides

Dalou made this bust as a gift for the sitter's father after he had bought "La Liseuse", the first work sold in England by the sculptor.
Miss Ionides was aged six or seven at the time.

V&A

[Her father later bequeathed his art collection to the V&A.]

Olympus E-20N
1/13s f/2.2 at 28.0mm iso160 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time08-Jan-2004 13:20:58
MakeOlympus
ModelE-20,E-20N,E-20P
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length28 mm
Exposure Time1/13 sec
Aperturef/2.2
ISO Equivalent160
Exposure Bias
White Balance (-1)
Metering Modematrix (5)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Mr Landy 22-Feb-2008 17:01
It was probably the most succesful child portrait executed by Dalou during his exile. In comparison to the statue of Arthur Anstrunther, the Bingham portrait, and the bust of Dorothy Heseltine this particular portrait bares greater vitality and vigour. Dalou had made numerous studies of children in preparation for the execution of the Windsor Monument for Queen Victoria in 1877. The bust of Helen Ionides is a good example of the confidence he gained in childrens portraiture at this late stage of his period in exile, a confidence that can be witnessed in the modelling of the infants on the Triumph of the Republic which he initially concieved in his last years in London. The modelling of the childs features are both delicate and spontanious and rather telling of the sitters character. It was also during this later stage that he also executed a sympathetic bust of his daughter Georgette in terracotta.

Notably, Dalou decided to use a more paler clay than usual. In the picture we see the orange colour of the clay used in for Le Lisuese, this brighter clay was more refined in terms of quality and most probably from came from the Watcombe deposit. The paler , greyish, clay was more likely a local clay that was commonly used by sculptors in studios all over london for preliminary purposes.
Louise 13-May-2006 11:26
I was fascinated by a postcard of this little sculpture when I was a teenager. I spent a day looking for it in the VandA before an elderly gentleman in the office of the sculpture gallery told me that it had been moved to Bethnal Green museum. I have been to see her a couple of times there. This is a beautiful photo. Well done.
Jvan Photography11-Jan-2004 18:07
This one is beautifully haunting