Rating and value of sculptures, bronzes and marbles by Naoum Aronson

If you own a work by or after the artist Naoum Aronson, and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will offer you their appraisal services.

Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with a precise estimate of its value on the current market.

Then, should you wish to sell your work, we will direct you to the best possible arrangement to obtain the optimum price.

Rating and value of artist Naoum Aronson       

Considered an important artist of naturalistic sculpture, Aronson leaves behind a unique artistic repertoire, within which bronze works occupy a prominent place.

At present, the prices of his works are rising enormously under the auctioneer's hammer. His creations are particularly prized, and the price at which they sell on the art market ranges from €140 to €77,380, a considerable range but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to Aronson's works.

In 2010, a bronze statue, Salome, sold for €77,380, while it was estimated at between €59,530 and €83,330.

Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious

Artist's style and technique

Naoum Aronson is a twentieth-century artist who produced various sculptures within the Symbolist movement. His work is closely linked to representations of the body and faces. Technically, he is influenced by Auguste Rodin, who was his master for many years, as well as Michelangelo's contrapposto.

The artist mainly works in bronze, sometimes in marble or plaster for his preparatory models, and works with lost-wax casting, which enables him to retain the nervousness of the modeling.

He works in ronde-bosse, but also in monumental busts or medallions. The modeling is energetic and supple, and the artist's hand remains visible. The surface is often vibrant, marked by asperities and irregularities, reinforcing the figure's living character.

In contrast to smooth academicism, Aronson seeks a psychological presence through the treatment of matter. He is a renowned portraitist, sculpting numerous personalities including Tolstoy, Beethoven, Pasteur and Gambetta.

His depictions are halfway between realism and plastic expression. His gilded heads and busts are endowed with a certain inner strength, sometimes idealized but always expressive. His work is influenced by late Romanticism and symbolism, with a search for moral grandeur in the subjects.

The forms are generally massive and compact, giving an impression of solidity and monumentality. The emphasis is on the face and head, often disproportionate to the rest of the body. He also works with shadows and reliefs accentuated by an uneven surface that catches the light dramatically.

His works are conceived as tributes, with memorials and commemorative busts dominating his output. Sculpture becomes a vehicle of memory and a means of magnifying the great figures of politics, science and culture.

Through his expressive treatment, he displaces simple likeness to achieve an allegorical dimension, for example Beethoven as the embodiment of creative genius.

He is heir to the Russian tradition, inspired by the realist school of Moscow and St. Petersburg, but marked by the Parisian climate of the Belle Époque. The style is situated between psychological realism (Rodin, Dalou) and a moderate form of expressionism. He seeks a balance between fidelity to the model and exaltation of character.

Naoum Aronson, his life, his work

Naoum Aronson (1872-1943), a Russian artist, became an important figure in 20th-century sculpture, particularly with regard to Symbolist sculpture.

A native of Kreslau (Russian Empire, now in Latvia), he began his training at the Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts. In 1891, he moved to Paris, where he met Rodin. Alongside Hector Lemaire, he then studied at the Ecole Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs.

Taking a break from his career and training to honor his military service, he returned to France shortly afterwards and began making numerous busts of famous personalities (Tolstoi, Rasputin...).

He made a name for himself with these works, and presented some of them at the 1937 Exposition Universelle.

Aronson was then forced to flee the Occupation, and so settled in New York, where he died a few years later.

Focus on the Bust of Leo Tolstoy, 1903

This bust was cast in bronze using the lost-wax technique. It is kept at the Russian State Museum, St. Petersburg, and in private collections.

The format is a monumental bust, concentrated on the head, neck and upper torso. Its position is frontal, with the gaze slightly downward, conveying a meditative attitude.

There are no accessory details, clothing is sketched out, and it is focused on facial expression. The vibrant surface is uneven, with direct, energetic modeling. Fingerprints and tool marks are visible, giving a sensation of living matter.

There is a contrast between polished areas (forehead, nose) and rougher parts (beards, hair). Tolstoy is depicted as a powerful, ascetic figure, with a thick beard and deep gaze.

The face expresses inner strength and moral gravity, in keeping with the writer's spiritual stature. The roughness of the surface suggests the tension between flesh and spirit, between the man and the idea he embodies.

The writer is not only portrayed, but mythologized as a universal moral conscience. With this treatment, Aronson goes beyond mere likeness and turns him into an allegory of the thinker and spiritual guide.

Naoum Aronson's imprint on his period

Naoum Aronson is a well-known artist among sculpture enthusiasts, the author of a fairly substantial artistic output. Today, most of his works are kept by private collectors, which increases the value and success of his works on the auction market.

His marble sculptures are particularly prized as they are absolutely unique pieces that reveal the artist's inspiration and way of working, but his bronzes are indisputably his most famous and prized works, which keep breaking records on the auction market.

Recognizing Naoum Aronson's signature     

It's not always easy to decipher or even be lucky enough to come across a work signed by Aronson, which is why expertise is important.

Knowing the value of a work

If you happen to own a work by Naoum Aronson, request a free appraisal without further delay via our form on our website.

A member of our team will contact you promptly with an estimate of the value of your work, not forgetting to send you ad hoc information about it.

If you're considering selling your work, our specialists will also help you find alternatives to sell it at the best possible price.