François-Raoul Larche was a sculptor who is best known for his numerous female figures, both nude and draped. He was especially inspired by the dancer Loie Fuller. One of his best-known statues depicts her in motion with part of her drapery billowing above and behind her head like a flame. Larche also designed objets d'art including epergnes, inkwells, and ornamental bowls. He took a particular interest in home light fittings and he supplied the firm of Siot-Décauville with several designs for lamps.
Read MoreLarche studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris under the sculptors François Jouffroy and Alexandre Falguière. He first exhibited in 1881 at the Salon of the Société des Artistes Français. He was awarded the second Grand Prix de Rome in 1886 and won a gold medal at the 1900 'Exposition Universelle' in Paris.
Although best known fr his small bronzes, he executed monumental sculptures for public spaces in Paris such as Joan of Arc at La Madeleine, and the stone St. Anthony at St. Antoine. He died in 1912 in an automobile accident.