Lot Essay
Of the three major sculptors of the Second Empire in France - Carrier-Belleuse, Carpeaux and Cordier - it is Carrier-Belleuse who stands out not only as the most prolific artist of his day, but as the one whose oeuvre touches upon every possible outlet available in the decorative arts. He used his prodigious talent in all mediums - from terra-cotta to bronze, marble and gold, creating works on many different scales and many different uses - from monumental works such as the Hebé Endormie at the Musée d'Orsay to trophies, clocks, statuettes, vases and jewelry.
Born in the provinces of Aisne in 1824, Carrier-Belleuse moved to Paris as a child where he was soon apprenticed to the goldsmith Fauconnier, also the employer of Barye. With the assistance of the sculptor David d'Angers, Carrier-Belleuse entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1840 for a brief period, joining students such as Garnier, Chapu and Carpeaux.
Carrier-Belleuse's first official commission preceded his Salon debut. In 1848 the new Republic ordered a plaster of Madame Rachel Singing the Marseillaise for the sum of 1000 FF. Following his first Salon in 1850, Carrier-Belleuse left France to take the position of chief designer of the Minton china manufactory in England, a post he occupied until 1855. It is upon his return to France that the sculptor's career really begins, particularly with the exhibition of his works in the annual Salons after 1857, the Paris of the Second Empire. His works were immediately noticed for their freshness and vitality, even winning praise from Baudelaire who did not try to hide his 'assez vif plaisir... Comme les maîtres qu'il affectionne l'idélité antique, devenue trop banale dans la sculpture contemporaine.' (Baudelaire, 'Salon de 1859' from Oeuvres Complètes, Pléade ed. Paris 1961)
Although Carrier-Belleuse exhibited annually at the Salon throughout his lifetime and was awarded various medals, his first great success came with the purchase by the Emperor himself of the 1863 marble group Bacchante with a Herm of Dionysus purchased for the Tuileries Gardens. It was Napoleon III who referred to the sculptor as 'notre nouveau Clodion' remarking upon the obvious influence of the 18th century on the artist's work.
Contemporary and current art historians have used various terms in an attempt to describe the eclectic tendencies in Carrier-Belleuse's work - 'neo-Rococo', 'proto-Art Nouveau', 'Realist'. In fact, the wide-ranging variety of these terms are evidence of the sculptor's enormous versatility. His portrait busts - of which he executed over 200 (of the tout Paris) - are informal and naturalistic. Those of men, such as Honoré Daumier, c. 1865-70 or that of Alexander Dumas or Napoleon III himself, tend to be sober and more realistic than his more fanciful and coquettish protraits of women.
A thriving business and increased demand for sculptural ornament due to Haussman's rebuilding of Paris had Carrier-Belleuse simultaneously executing protraits, religious sculpture (such as the marble Messiah for the Church of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul) as well as some of the most important decorative commissions in Paris. The wealthy and notorious courtesan, the Marquise de Païva employed him to work on her sumptuous Hôtel Païva - today the Travellers's Club on the Champs-Elysées. This was followed by work on the St. Augustin Church, the fountains of the Place du Théatre français, the caryatids of the Paris Opera house as well as the Pavillon de Flore.
'C'est presque une machine à sculpter que M. Carrier-Belleuse.. chaque jour sortent de son atelier des bustes, des ornements, des statues, des candélabres, des cariatides, bronze, marbre, plâtre, albâtre, il taille tout, il façonne tout, il creuse tout, mais que cette machine a d'esprit, d'imagination, de verve...'(Edouard Lockroy, l'Artiste 1865)
With the threat of war in 1870, Carrier-Belleuse moved his atelier and business to Brussels to work on the new Bourse (Stock Exchange). After the war, Carrier-Belleuse returned to Paris where his success never waned in spite of the new political regime. A talented businessman, Carrier-Belleuse organized sales of his own work at auction - at the time unheard of from a living artist - a practice he had begun in 1868 and continued with a total of seventeen very lucrative auctions. Appointed director of the Sèvres Porcelain factory in 1875, he was promoted to "Chevalier" of the Legion d'honneur in 1885, two years before his death.
The present sculpture of a Nymph and Putto allows Carrier-Belleuse full freedom of expression under the protection of a fairly anonymous title. Mythological or contemporary Mother and Child, the sculptor imbues this large marble with the crisp attention to detail and the emphasis on movement and technical virtuosity that made him famous. The sensual swerving contra-posto leads the viewer around and up to the child who laces his figure in the woman's hair. If the pose is inspired by an antique ideal, Carrier-Belleuse carves a 19th century female figure with naturalistic legs and torso. The pose is reminiscent of the 16th century Fontaine des Innocents by Jean Goujon with the mannered elegance given greater fullness and breadth.
The vitality and craftsmanship evident in the present marble explain, in part, the influence this highly commercial artist held over his various students; Dalou, Joseph Chéret, Falguière and, most importantly, Auguste Rodin.
Born in the provinces of Aisne in 1824, Carrier-Belleuse moved to Paris as a child where he was soon apprenticed to the goldsmith Fauconnier, also the employer of Barye. With the assistance of the sculptor David d'Angers, Carrier-Belleuse entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1840 for a brief period, joining students such as Garnier, Chapu and Carpeaux.
Carrier-Belleuse's first official commission preceded his Salon debut. In 1848 the new Republic ordered a plaster of Madame Rachel Singing the Marseillaise for the sum of 1000 FF. Following his first Salon in 1850, Carrier-Belleuse left France to take the position of chief designer of the Minton china manufactory in England, a post he occupied until 1855. It is upon his return to France that the sculptor's career really begins, particularly with the exhibition of his works in the annual Salons after 1857, the Paris of the Second Empire. His works were immediately noticed for their freshness and vitality, even winning praise from Baudelaire who did not try to hide his 'assez vif plaisir... Comme les maîtres qu'il affectionne l'idélité antique, devenue trop banale dans la sculpture contemporaine.' (Baudelaire, 'Salon de 1859' from Oeuvres Complètes, Pléade ed. Paris 1961)
Although Carrier-Belleuse exhibited annually at the Salon throughout his lifetime and was awarded various medals, his first great success came with the purchase by the Emperor himself of the 1863 marble group Bacchante with a Herm of Dionysus purchased for the Tuileries Gardens. It was Napoleon III who referred to the sculptor as 'notre nouveau Clodion' remarking upon the obvious influence of the 18th century on the artist's work.
Contemporary and current art historians have used various terms in an attempt to describe the eclectic tendencies in Carrier-Belleuse's work - 'neo-Rococo', 'proto-Art Nouveau', 'Realist'. In fact, the wide-ranging variety of these terms are evidence of the sculptor's enormous versatility. His portrait busts - of which he executed over 200 (of the tout Paris) - are informal and naturalistic. Those of men, such as Honoré Daumier, c. 1865-70 or that of Alexander Dumas or Napoleon III himself, tend to be sober and more realistic than his more fanciful and coquettish protraits of women.
A thriving business and increased demand for sculptural ornament due to Haussman's rebuilding of Paris had Carrier-Belleuse simultaneously executing protraits, religious sculpture (such as the marble Messiah for the Church of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul) as well as some of the most important decorative commissions in Paris. The wealthy and notorious courtesan, the Marquise de Païva employed him to work on her sumptuous Hôtel Païva - today the Travellers's Club on the Champs-Elysées. This was followed by work on the St. Augustin Church, the fountains of the Place du Théatre français, the caryatids of the Paris Opera house as well as the Pavillon de Flore.
'C'est presque une machine à sculpter que M. Carrier-Belleuse.. chaque jour sortent de son atelier des bustes, des ornements, des statues, des candélabres, des cariatides, bronze, marbre, plâtre, albâtre, il taille tout, il façonne tout, il creuse tout, mais que cette machine a d'esprit, d'imagination, de verve...'(Edouard Lockroy, l'Artiste 1865)
With the threat of war in 1870, Carrier-Belleuse moved his atelier and business to Brussels to work on the new Bourse (Stock Exchange). After the war, Carrier-Belleuse returned to Paris where his success never waned in spite of the new political regime. A talented businessman, Carrier-Belleuse organized sales of his own work at auction - at the time unheard of from a living artist - a practice he had begun in 1868 and continued with a total of seventeen very lucrative auctions. Appointed director of the Sèvres Porcelain factory in 1875, he was promoted to "Chevalier" of the Legion d'honneur in 1885, two years before his death.
The present sculpture of a Nymph and Putto allows Carrier-Belleuse full freedom of expression under the protection of a fairly anonymous title. Mythological or contemporary Mother and Child, the sculptor imbues this large marble with the crisp attention to detail and the emphasis on movement and technical virtuosity that made him famous. The sensual swerving contra-posto leads the viewer around and up to the child who laces his figure in the woman's hair. If the pose is inspired by an antique ideal, Carrier-Belleuse carves a 19th century female figure with naturalistic legs and torso. The pose is reminiscent of the 16th century Fontaine des Innocents by Jean Goujon with the mannered elegance given greater fullness and breadth.
The vitality and craftsmanship evident in the present marble explain, in part, the influence this highly commercial artist held over his various students; Dalou, Joseph Chéret, Falguière and, most importantly, Auguste Rodin.