Lot Essay
Comparative Literature:
E. Gramaccini, Jean-Guillaume Moitte, Leben and Werk, Berlin, 1993
This apparently unpublished terracotta dates from after the French Revolution, yet its subject matter is unaffected by political considerations, and is purely decorative. In general appearance, the composition of two addorsed, lightly draped female figures recalls French sculpture of the late Renaissance, in particular Germain Pilon's Three Graces from the monuments for the heart of King Henri II, 1560-66, now in the Louvre. Moitte substitutes for the circular container for the royal heart the vase piled with ripe fruit. The nude maidens are more classicizing than Pilon's, while the vase is redolent of those designed by Ballin for the gardens of Versailles.
E. Gramaccini, Jean-Guillaume Moitte, Leben and Werk, Berlin, 1993
This apparently unpublished terracotta dates from after the French Revolution, yet its subject matter is unaffected by political considerations, and is purely decorative. In general appearance, the composition of two addorsed, lightly draped female figures recalls French sculpture of the late Renaissance, in particular Germain Pilon's Three Graces from the monuments for the heart of King Henri II, 1560-66, now in the Louvre. Moitte substitutes for the circular container for the royal heart the vase piled with ripe fruit. The nude maidens are more classicizing than Pilon's, while the vase is redolent of those designed by Ballin for the gardens of Versailles.