Francis LA MONACA (1882-1937)
"Nora" or "The... Lot 116
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Francis LA MONACA (1882-1937)
"Nora" or "The Monkey Who Became a Woman
Extremely rare proof in bronze with shaded brown patina on a green background.
1930s lost-wax by Claude Valsuani
Signed "LA MONACA" and large Foundry stamp "C. Valsuani - Cire perdue" on the naturalistic terrace, lower left Dedication to "Félicien Champsaur", front left
Unique copy in this size (Archives Valsuani)
Height: 86 cm Width: 72 cm - Depth: 42 cm
A copy of Félicien Champsaur's "Nora ou la Guenon devenu femme", published in 1929, will be given to the purchaser.
This sculpture is said to have been commissioned by Félicien Champsaur directly from the artist after the publication of his novel.
Félicien Champsaur (1858-1934), journalist and novelist, was one of the most productive writers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
He frequented the illustrious figures of artistic and literary Paris.
Félicien Champsaur left posterity a varied and eclectic artistic oeuvre.
Inspired by the success of Doctor Serge Voronoff's work on organ transplants, he wrote the novel Nora, La guenon devenu femme.
The book, published in 1929, is illustrated with works by Endré-Jaquelux Naillod, in which the heroine is portrayed as Josephine Baker, which provoked controversy.
Francis La Monaca, also inspired by the fame of Doctor Serge Voronoff and Félicien Champsaur's novel, immortalized the event with this sculpture, unique in its size. (Archives of the C. Valsuani foundry)
Serge Voronoff (1866-1951) was a Russian-born French surgeon who became famous for his technique of grafting monkey testicle tissue onto male testicles between the 1920s and 1930s: the technique was intended to bring rejuvenation to elderly men. This treatment, very much in vogue in the 20s, brought him fame and fortune. He further experimented by transplanting monkey ovaries into women, and also tried the reverse, then attempted to inseminate human sperm into monkeys. As a result of the fame of this experiment, "Nora, la guenon devenue femme" was written by Félicien Champsaur.
After the 1930s, under pressure from the scientific community, Dr. Serge Voronoff was forced to end his experiments and fell into disgrace.
Please request condition reports prior to sale: they are not included in the data sheets.
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