A new look at the classical academic artist Aristide Maillol (1861-1944) and his art in the context of current gender debates

French sculptor Aristide Maillol (1861-1944) is sometimes referred to as the "Cézanne of sculpture" as he, like Paul Cézanne in the case of painting, paved the way for abstraction in his artistic field. Maillol began his career as a painter and produced a highly attractive body of work that is far too little known outside France.

This book, published in conjunction with a comprehensive Maillol exhibition at the Kunsthaus Zürich, asks questions about the foundation of that male gaze at women that Maillol's art reflects, and how we perceive it today against the background of current gender debates. Franca Candrian's extraordinary photo essay confronts Maillol's Vénus au collier with works by modern and contemporary women artists from the Kunsthaus Zürich's collection. An essay by feminist art historian and curator Catherine McCormack explores the presence of this art-which in most cases depicts female nudes-in contemporary museums. Supplemented by an introduction by Philippe Büttner, curator of Kunsthaus Zürich's permanent collection, the book thus offers a new, different view of Aristide Maillol and his art.