A CARVED MARBLE BUST OF A GENTLEMAN, POSSIBLY BEAUMARCHAIS

AFTER JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI (1725-1792), 19TH CENTURY

Details

A CARVED MARBLE BUST OF A GENTLEMAN, POSSIBLY BEAUMARCHAIS
AFTER JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI (1725-1792), 19TH CENTURY
On an integral waisted circular socle; with the signature and date on the reverse 'FAIT PAR J.J. CAFFIERI. 1781'.
Minor surface dirt; chips.
19.5/8 in. (59.9 cm.) high

Literature

French Art of the Eighteenth Century, London, 1914, Burlington Fine Arts Club, no. 95, pl. XLIX.

Exhibited

London, Burlington Fine Arts Club, French Art of the Eighteenth Century, 1913, no. 95, as 'Marble Bust of a Man Unknown' by Caffieri, lent by Mr. Ludovic Goetz.

Lot Essay

The identity of the sitter of the present bust is disputed. It is known that Caffieri exhibited a bust of Antoine Mesmer (who, as the father of the modern science of hypnotism, gave his name to the verb 'to mesmerise') in the salon of 1781. However, on the basis of our present knowledge of Mesmer's physical appearance, this seems unlikely. Another tradition names the sitter as Beaumarchais, French dramatist and author of The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro. Although not conclusive, the similarities between the present piece and known portraits of Beaumarchais are more convincing.

More from Sculpture

View All