French Art Deco Cire Perdue Bronze Nude by Joé Descomps

Elegant French Art Deco bronze sculpture of a kneeling nude woman by Joé Descomps‑Cormier (French, 1869–1950), cast in cire perdue and mounted on a black and white veined marble base. The figure is captured in a dynamic, twisting pose, one arm raised behind her head as she draws a draped cloth across her thighs, emphasizing the long, athletic lines of the body and the play of light over the finely modelled musculature.
Descomps was one of the leading French sculptors of the Art Deco period, celebrated for his idealized female figures, dancers and nudes, often produced in high‑quality lost‑wax bronzes for prestigious Parisian foundries. Active in Paris from the turn of the century, he exhibited regularly at the Salon and is recorded in standard Art Deco sculpture references such as Catley, Shayo and Berman.
The bronze on this example retains a rich, dark patina with subtle highlights to the shoulders, abdomen and knees; the strongly veined marble plinth provides a striking contrast and typical Deco sense of luxury. A refined, museum‑quality piece that would sit comfortably alongside works by contemporaries such as Chiparus, Le Faguays and Lorenzl.