The Dawn

Alfred Finot (1876-1947)

Nationality : French

Date : ca.1910
Dimensions : 91 cm (sculpture) ; 13 cm (base)
Material : White Carrara marble and base in Arabescato
Signature : “A. Finot”

This exquisite white marble sculpture, titled L’Aurore (The Dawn) by French sculptor Alfred Finot, embodies the allegorical figure of Dawn as a young woman gently rising to greet the new day. Carved around 1910, it rests on a veined Arabescato marble base and bears the elegant signature “A. Finot.”

Finot offers a poetic personification of Aurora, the Roman goddess of morning, rendered with a perfect balance of sensuality and restraint. The figure’s pose evokes the serene emergence from slumber—her upper torso defined with anatomical precision, while her lower body and head are cloaked in swirling drapery that dissolves into abstract folds, symbolizing the ethereal nature of dawn itself.

While recalling Barrias’s renowned allegorical work Nature Unveiling Herself to Science, Finot’s interpretation is distinctly introspective. The sculpture aligns with Art Nouveau sensibilities through its fluid contours and dreamlike atmosphere, but eschews theatricality in favor of a quiet emotional resonance.

The Dawn exemplifies Finot’s mastery at uniting allegory, naturalism, and decorative finesse. It captures the fleeting transition between night and day—shadow and light, dream and awakening—encapsulated in the delicate poetry of white marble.