Lot Essay
Barthélemy Prieur is among the most important French sculptors of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. His career as a monumental sculptor in bronze is documented by his contribution to the monument for the heart of the Connétable Anne de Montmorency, originally in the church of the Célestins in Paris and now in the Louvre. Two other large scale bronzes, also in the Louvre, originally formed part of the tomb of Christophe de Thou in the church of Saint-André-des-Arcs, Paris, while Prieur's mastery of sculpture in marble is revealed by the effigy figures for the tomb of the Connétable and his wife, Madeleine de Savoie (Beaulieu, loc. cit.). Although Prieur, who was a Huguenot, was obliged to flee from France in 1585, he returned in 1591 and was named Court Sculptor by Henri IV.
It has long been recognised that a considerable body of bronze statuettes, many of them representing women at their toilette, peasants, and animals form a coherent group. It is only comparatively recently, however, that these bronzes, formerly attributed to the anonymous Master of the Genre Figures, have been convincingly associated with Prieur. Particularly telling in this respect is the reference to a 'petite figure de cuivre faicte de la main de Mr Barthelemy, laquelle figure est une femme qui rogne les ongles de ses pieds' in the posthumous inventory of Prieur's friend, the architect Jacques II Androuet du Cerceau, which dates from 1602 (Seelig-Teuwen, loc. cit.). Just such a figure, known in various examples, has long been an essential element in the 'genre figures' group. The fact that this statuette was copied in drawings by the Italian painter Jacopo Bertoia in Rome no later than 1569 is of particular significance since Prieur is known to have been in Rome with his countryman Ponce Jacquiot before his return to France in 1559 (Penny, Ekserdjian, locs. cit.).
The present statuette is only the second example of this model known thus far. The attribution of the other, sold in these Rooms on 13 December 1985, lot 132, was based on the facial type of the figure, as well as its facture and patination. This attribution has been generally accepted. If anything, the present bronze is the finer of the two, as is apparent in such areas as the chiselling of the hair. Furthermore, in this instance the flute which the putto holds in his hands is complete.
It has long been recognised that a considerable body of bronze statuettes, many of them representing women at their toilette, peasants, and animals form a coherent group. It is only comparatively recently, however, that these bronzes, formerly attributed to the anonymous Master of the Genre Figures, have been convincingly associated with Prieur. Particularly telling in this respect is the reference to a 'petite figure de cuivre faicte de la main de Mr Barthelemy, laquelle figure est une femme qui rogne les ongles de ses pieds' in the posthumous inventory of Prieur's friend, the architect Jacques II Androuet du Cerceau, which dates from 1602 (Seelig-Teuwen, loc. cit.). Just such a figure, known in various examples, has long been an essential element in the 'genre figures' group. The fact that this statuette was copied in drawings by the Italian painter Jacopo Bertoia in Rome no later than 1569 is of particular significance since Prieur is known to have been in Rome with his countryman Ponce Jacquiot before his return to France in 1559 (Penny, Ekserdjian, locs. cit.).
The present statuette is only the second example of this model known thus far. The attribution of the other, sold in these Rooms on 13 December 1985, lot 132, was based on the facial type of the figure, as well as its facture and patination. This attribution has been generally accepted. If anything, the present bronze is the finer of the two, as is apparent in such areas as the chiselling of the hair. Furthermore, in this instance the flute which the putto holds in his hands is complete.