BY ALBERT ERNEST CARRIER-BELLEUSE, THIRD QUARTER 19TH CENTURY

Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, one of the most prolific and versatile sculptors of the 19th Century, began his career studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris under David d'Angers in 1840, first exhibiting at the Salon in 1851. From 1850 to 1854 he worked under Leon Arnoux at Minton's porcelain works in England, returning in 1855. His reputation was established by the group Salve Regina, which he exhibited at the Salon in 1861 and his first great success came in 1863 when the Emperor Napoleon III bought his Bacchantewith the Herm of Dionysus for the Tuileries Gardens. His later works brought him medals and the Légion d'Honneur, many public commissions, and the appointment to be Director of the Sèvres porcelain factory. There he counted among his assistants Rodin. Mathurin-Moreau, although his own work showed little sympathy with the modern movement which Rodin was so instrumental in developping. This bust can be reliably dated to the period before 1868, when he signed his work A. Carrier rather than in full.
A similar bust on a white marble socle was sold in these Rooms, 16/6/94, lot 377 (¨7,500)