RACHEL HAUTOT French, 1882–1935 The Tunisian Flutist Bronze Bronze sculpture which captures the quiet, soulful dignity of a North African young boy. The figure, a young boy standing barefoot on a circular base, is depicted in a moment of focused concentration as he plays a simple pipe or flute. Signed at base and with an oval foundry stamp of Montagutelli Freres, a renowned early 20th-century Parisian art foundry, active around 1899–1912, specializing in high-quality bronze castings. Height: 14 3/4 in. (37.5 cm.) $1,200-1,600
ARTIST PROFILE: Rachel Hautot (1882–1935) was a distinguished French sculptor who became a central figure in the artistic landscape of colonial Tunisia. After studying under Laurent Marqueste at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, she received the Prix Chenavart in 1912, which funded her initial transformative journey to North Africa. She eventually settled permanently in Tunis, where she taught sculpture at the Lycée Carnot and received prestigious commissions, including the monument to Muslim soldiers of World War I and the pediment of the Customs building. Throughout her career, Hautot maintained strong ties to France, earning a gold medal at the 1922 National Colonial Exhibition in Marseille and the Nichan Iftikhar from the Tunisian government for her evocative Orientalist works like The Bedouin and Her Two Children. Her prolific career came to a tragic and mysterious end in December 1935, when she was found murdered in her Tunis studio; the perpetrator was never identified.
