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Lot Essay
While this spectacular group resembles many depictions of the three graces, it was actually intended by its sculptor, Paul Richer (d. 1933), to represent idealized women from the art of three different epochs: (from left to right) the Renaissance, Antiquity and the modern age. Each figure fits within the visual tradition of her respective era: the lady of the Renaissance grasps an intricate ewer and wears a jewel-studded necklace, the antique maiden stands before a crumbling column and the modern woman leans provocatively on the shoulder of the Antique maiden, a spray of roses in her hand, another at her feet. Though the figures display differences in form as would three period pictures or sculptures in a similar juxtaposition, they are locked in a seductive embrace and harmoniously united; a realization of their Latin title: three in one.
Richer's extraordinary command of the human figure was informed by his work as a doctor and professor at the Académie de Médcine in Paris, where he was an expert in human anatomy. Richer was particularly interested in the representation of the human form in the visual arts, and taught anatomy courses at the Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. He published widely on the topic including his Anatomie Artistique of 1890, a lavishly illustrated compendium which would prove a useful resource for artists of his and future generations. As the present model suggests, Richer was also a noted artist in his own right, participating in the Paris Salons from 1878 forward.
The present group is seemingly identical to a sculpture Richer exhibited at the Salon of 1913 which was later in the Petit Palais in Paris and is currently in the city hall for the Eighth Arrondissement, the Hôtel Cail. Richer created a preparatory model in plaster for these groups which is now in the Musée d'Orsay (see above) and anticipates, with its highly worked surface, the painstaking attention Richer afforded to the final marble. The present group appears to be the only other known full-size model of Tres in Una. It was purportedly acquired by the Hearst family intended for Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California, though never publicly exhibited on the property. It has been in the same private collection since its purchase circa 1970 and this sale represents its first appearance at auction.
Richer's extraordinary command of the human figure was informed by his work as a doctor and professor at the Académie de Médcine in Paris, where he was an expert in human anatomy. Richer was particularly interested in the representation of the human form in the visual arts, and taught anatomy courses at the Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. He published widely on the topic including his Anatomie Artistique of 1890, a lavishly illustrated compendium which would prove a useful resource for artists of his and future generations. As the present model suggests, Richer was also a noted artist in his own right, participating in the Paris Salons from 1878 forward.
The present group is seemingly identical to a sculpture Richer exhibited at the Salon of 1913 which was later in the Petit Palais in Paris and is currently in the city hall for the Eighth Arrondissement, the Hôtel Cail. Richer created a preparatory model in plaster for these groups which is now in the Musée d'Orsay (see above) and anticipates, with its highly worked surface, the painstaking attention Richer afforded to the final marble. The present group appears to be the only other known full-size model of Tres in Una. It was purportedly acquired by the Hearst family intended for Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California, though never publicly exhibited on the property. It has been in the same private collection since its purchase circa 1970 and this sale represents its first appearance at auction.