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Lot Essay
These groups are faithful bronze reductions of the large groups in lead, executed by the sculptor Edmé Bouchardon for the Bassin de Neptune in Versailles between 1736 and 1739 (illustrated in Pincas, loc. cit.). Bouchardon’s groups were placed on the two sides of the large pool of water, framing the central group of The Triumph of Neptune by the brothers Lambert-Sigisbert and Nicolas-Sébastien Adam. Their playful nature helped to offset the awe-inspiring power of Neptune, Amphitrite and their attendants.
When the present groups were sold in 2000, they were described as ‘after a model by Edmé Bouchardon, attributed to Louis-Claude Antoine Vassé ‘. Vassé, was perhaps Bouchardon’s most talented pupil, and was working for him during the time the Versailles lead groups were created. It is certainly not impossible that Vassé was responsible for the present bronze groups, but there seems to be no compelling reason to suggest they were cast under the direction of Vassé when they could just as easily – and more logically - have been cast under the direction of their inventor, Bouchardon. Both artists worked principally in marble, but had access to founders who could cast their models in bronze or lead.
It is perhaps the reference to a terracotta in the 1773 auction of the contents of Vassé’s studio and cabinet after his death which prompted the author of the 2000 auction entry to suggest that Vassé was responsible for the present bronze groups. The reference listed ‘un modèle en terre cuite, par Bouchardon, représentant un subject proper à décorer un grand basin, orné de Tritons et de differens animaux aquatiques’ (transcribed in Black, loc. cit.). The author suggests that the entry refers to Bouchardon’s terracotta model for the Versailles lead groups and that because Vassé owned the model he must have been responsible for the bronze reductions. However, it seems highly unlikely that the 1773 author would not have known the origin of the terracotta model when the leads were among Bouchardon’s most visible sculptures at Versailles. More importantly, the 1773 entry clearly refers to ‘tritons’ (which should be half-man half-fish), and the present groups depict children. Bouchardon is known to have executed several models on a similar theme (see Lami, op. cit., p. 105), and it seems more likely that this 1773 description refers to one of these other compositions.
When the present groups were sold in 2000, they were described as ‘after a model by Edmé Bouchardon, attributed to Louis-Claude Antoine Vassé ‘. Vassé, was perhaps Bouchardon’s most talented pupil, and was working for him during the time the Versailles lead groups were created. It is certainly not impossible that Vassé was responsible for the present bronze groups, but there seems to be no compelling reason to suggest they were cast under the direction of Vassé when they could just as easily – and more logically - have been cast under the direction of their inventor, Bouchardon. Both artists worked principally in marble, but had access to founders who could cast their models in bronze or lead.
It is perhaps the reference to a terracotta in the 1773 auction of the contents of Vassé’s studio and cabinet after his death which prompted the author of the 2000 auction entry to suggest that Vassé was responsible for the present bronze groups. The reference listed ‘un modèle en terre cuite, par Bouchardon, représentant un subject proper à décorer un grand basin, orné de Tritons et de differens animaux aquatiques’ (transcribed in Black, loc. cit.). The author suggests that the entry refers to Bouchardon’s terracotta model for the Versailles lead groups and that because Vassé owned the model he must have been responsible for the bronze reductions. However, it seems highly unlikely that the 1773 author would not have known the origin of the terracotta model when the leads were among Bouchardon’s most visible sculptures at Versailles. More importantly, the 1773 entry clearly refers to ‘tritons’ (which should be half-man half-fish), and the present groups depict children. Bouchardon is known to have executed several models on a similar theme (see Lami, op. cit., p. 105), and it seems more likely that this 1773 description refers to one of these other compositions.