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Lot Essay
Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (1714-1785) was one of the most important sculptors of mid 18th century France, and his figures of Vénus qui donne un message à Mercure and Mercure attachant ses talonnières are among his most celebrated compositions. His early training was with Robert Le Lorrain and Jean-Baptiste II Lemoyne before setting out to study in Rome. It is thought that during the journey back he stopped in Lyon, and probably executed the terracotta version of the Mercure attachant ses talonnières while there. He presented it to the Academy in Paris in 1741 (possibly the example now in the Metropolitan Museum in New York) and in 1742 he was commissioned to execute two figures in plaster of Mercury and Venus which were exhibited in the Salon of that year. In 1744 he presented a small version of the Mercury in marble (Louvre, Paris) as his morceau de réception, and in 1750 a larger pair of the Mercury and Venus - the latter with a slightly varied pose - were given by Louis XV as a gift to Frederick II of Prussia.
The compositions were immediately popular, and it is known that several replicas were made. Certainly there exist today two marbles at Waddesdon Manor of slightly smaller size than the marbles presented here (Hodgkinson, loc. cit.), and a lead version of the Mercury is in the Louvre, formerly in the collection of the Duc de Penthièvre. A smaller marble example of the Venus was sold as part of the Champalimaud collection in these Rooms in 2005 (6 July, lot 73).
Although differing in some minor details of execution, the present example of Mercury most closely resembles the marble in the Louvre which is a securely documented work. In particular, the intensity of the facial expression, with sharply indicated pupils, is common to both. The arrangement of the caduceus under his feet is also identical to the Louvre example, but quite different from the terracotta in New York mentioned above.
Unlike the Waddesdon marbles, the present pair have an 18th century provenance, having been documented in the cabinet of the Fermier Général Bouret de Vézelay in 1762 (for the reference see Hodgkinson, op. cit., p. 70). Shortly thereafter they entered the collection of the Marquis d'Aligre and then passed, by marriage, to the collection of the Marquis de Pomereu circa 1800. The Aligre and Pomereu families were enormously wealthy in the late 18th and 19th centuries, and the lavish Hôtel de Pomereu, situated behind the present day Musée d'Orsay, was converted in the mid 20th century to the Caisse de Dépots et Consignations. The marbles were acquired by the present owner in 1980.
Compositionally, the pair compliment each other beautifully. Both share the basic format of a single figure seated on a bank of clouds. However Venus sits coyly, with her head tilted down but looking up and across to her messenger. She is accompanied by the billing doves and her overall form is more self-contained. In contrast, Mercury's torso is coiled like a spring and his limbs form aggressive angles which break up his silhouette. He is ready to spring to do the bidding of his mistress. It is this reversal of the apparent roles which gives this pair its added charm; although they appear to conform to the traditional idea of female passivity and male dominance, it is actually the goddess of love who gives the command.
The compositions were immediately popular, and it is known that several replicas were made. Certainly there exist today two marbles at Waddesdon Manor of slightly smaller size than the marbles presented here (Hodgkinson, loc. cit.), and a lead version of the Mercury is in the Louvre, formerly in the collection of the Duc de Penthièvre. A smaller marble example of the Venus was sold as part of the Champalimaud collection in these Rooms in 2005 (6 July, lot 73).
Although differing in some minor details of execution, the present example of Mercury most closely resembles the marble in the Louvre which is a securely documented work. In particular, the intensity of the facial expression, with sharply indicated pupils, is common to both. The arrangement of the caduceus under his feet is also identical to the Louvre example, but quite different from the terracotta in New York mentioned above.
Unlike the Waddesdon marbles, the present pair have an 18th century provenance, having been documented in the cabinet of the Fermier Général Bouret de Vézelay in 1762 (for the reference see Hodgkinson, op. cit., p. 70). Shortly thereafter they entered the collection of the Marquis d'Aligre and then passed, by marriage, to the collection of the Marquis de Pomereu circa 1800. The Aligre and Pomereu families were enormously wealthy in the late 18th and 19th centuries, and the lavish Hôtel de Pomereu, situated behind the present day Musée d'Orsay, was converted in the mid 20th century to the Caisse de Dépots et Consignations. The marbles were acquired by the present owner in 1980.
Compositionally, the pair compliment each other beautifully. Both share the basic format of a single figure seated on a bank of clouds. However Venus sits coyly, with her head tilted down but looking up and across to her messenger. She is accompanied by the billing doves and her overall form is more self-contained. In contrast, Mercury's torso is coiled like a spring and his limbs form aggressive angles which break up his silhouette. He is ready to spring to do the bidding of his mistress. It is this reversal of the apparent roles which gives this pair its added charm; although they appear to conform to the traditional idea of female passivity and male dominance, it is actually the goddess of love who gives the command.