Dora Gordine: An Overview

Biography

Introduction

"If the idiom of Post-impresslonism was introduced through Le Mayeur, the language of Classicism was found in Dora Gordine. Gordine was encouraged and influenced by the French sculptor Aristide Maillol whose more sensuous treatment of the human form set him apart from his contemporary Auguste Rodin whose work epitomised the expressive Romanticism. Gordlne's work, like Maillol's, is more in line with the Classical tradition, manifesting universal and idealised human forms -- as in the racial characteristics of the busts she sculpted -- rather than the individual and his emotions. Malay Head , Indian Head and Chinese Head sculpted by Dora Gordlne in the early-1930s are currently in Parliament House. They are likely to be part of a group of works bought or commissioned in this period to decorate the interior of Singapore's new Municipal Building (later City Hall) which was completed in 1929."

Channels & Confluences, chapter 10.

Works

• A Dora Gordine Gallery
• Malay Head
• Indian Head
• Chinese Head

References

Kwok Kian Chow. Channels & Confluences: A History of Singapore Art. Singapore: National Heritage Board/Singapore Art Museum, 1996

Last updated: April 2000