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Lot Essay
Abduction groups such as the present two bronzes follow in a tradition which goes back at least to the time of mannerist artists such as Giambologna, who used the theme to display their compositional and technical genius. The theme was particularly popular in France under Louis XIV, who commissioned a number of such groups in marble to adorn the grounds of the royal palaces. Owing to the structure of the present bronzes - particularly that of Neptune and Caenis - it is unlikely that they are reductions of marble groups because the composition is such that the ankles of the male figures would be too fine to support a large weight of marble above. More likely, they were created as table top bronzes as decoration for a fashionable interior.
The bronzes owe much to the influence of Girardon, who dominated the world of sculpture under the Sun King, and particularly to his pupil Robert Le Lorrain. The somewhat mannered pose recalls the latter's Andromeda of circa 1695-1700 and his Bacchante of before 1699 (reproduced in Souchal, op. cit., pp. 333, 335, figs. 5, 8). The oval faces of the women, with their hooded eyes, are also closely comparable to a number of Le Lorrain's works, including the stone figure of Religion, formerly above the main portal of the Palais Rohan in Strasbourg (illustrated in Beaulieu, op. cit., pl. LI).
The bronzes owe much to the influence of Girardon, who dominated the world of sculpture under the Sun King, and particularly to his pupil Robert Le Lorrain. The somewhat mannered pose recalls the latter's Andromeda of circa 1695-1700 and his Bacchante of before 1699 (reproduced in Souchal, op. cit., pp. 333, 335, figs. 5, 8). The oval faces of the women, with their hooded eyes, are also closely comparable to a number of Le Lorrain's works, including the stone figure of Religion, formerly above the main portal of the Palais Rohan in Strasbourg (illustrated in Beaulieu, op. cit., pl. LI).