Lot Essay
Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (1824-1887) exhibited his first marble ideal figural sculpture at the Salon of 1863, this was his Bacchante, which was bought by Napoleon III. The following year he was invited by Napoleon to Vichy to model Marguérite Bellanger, Napoleon's favourite and long-standing mistress. In 1864 Carrier exhibited a second marble figure at the Salon, this time of Ondine which Marguérite acquired. The present marble Susanna was executed in the same year, it is one of the sculptor's early marbles, and a beautiful unrecorded statue. It was also acquired by Margérite, and the fact that it was not exhibited at the Salon, suggests that it may have been a private commission from her to Carrier. The physiognomy may well be inspired by Marguérite's fine features, as it bears similarities to known portraits of her by Carrier. It is interesting to note, that though the marble is unrecorded, the model must have been acclaimed and popular, for a reduction in bronze, probably cast towards the end of Carrier's career has recently appeared on the art market (Sotheby's London, 28 April 1989, Lot 33).
The great success with which Carrier-Belleuse's female statues was met was due in part to his inventive and ornamental style. He turned back to 18th century types, refreshing their idioms with his own harmonious compositions of form and line. This is most apparent in the present marble, for the theme of Susanna surprised by the two elders was widely treated from the Rennaissance onwards, but Carrier has managed to bring to it a sense of intimacy and suppleness of composition typical of his art. The story from which he drew his theme tells of the Babylonian maiden who was desired by two elders of the community, and during one of her daily baths in her garden was ambushed by them.
Carrier has chosen to omit the elders, but by her startled expression and turn of her head cleverly conveys their presence. Seated on a decoartive marble pedestal, with steps leading down to the pool, Susanna has been captured just in the moment she was disrobing, and attempts to cover her nudity. She stands as an isolated idiom of beauty, the planes of her soft naked flesh contrasted with the intricate folds of her dress caught about her thighs and fallen to the ground. Like the Ondine of the same year, the Susanna is particularly appealing for its lack of the rich Neo-Mannerist trappings which adorn many of Carrier's works, the Susanna is set off by the purity of the unadorned marble, and yet, more so than the Ondine, is enlivened by an inner verve and the arrested movement.
The great success with which Carrier-Belleuse's female statues was met was due in part to his inventive and ornamental style. He turned back to 18th century types, refreshing their idioms with his own harmonious compositions of form and line. This is most apparent in the present marble, for the theme of Susanna surprised by the two elders was widely treated from the Rennaissance onwards, but Carrier has managed to bring to it a sense of intimacy and suppleness of composition typical of his art. The story from which he drew his theme tells of the Babylonian maiden who was desired by two elders of the community, and during one of her daily baths in her garden was ambushed by them.
Carrier has chosen to omit the elders, but by her startled expression and turn of her head cleverly conveys their presence. Seated on a decoartive marble pedestal, with steps leading down to the pool, Susanna has been captured just in the moment she was disrobing, and attempts to cover her nudity. She stands as an isolated idiom of beauty, the planes of her soft naked flesh contrasted with the intricate folds of her dress caught about her thighs and fallen to the ground. Like the Ondine of the same year, the Susanna is particularly appealing for its lack of the rich Neo-Mannerist trappings which adorn many of Carrier's works, the Susanna is set off by the purity of the unadorned marble, and yet, more so than the Ondine, is enlivened by an inner verve and the arrested movement.