Lot Essay
Pradier, Jean Jacques 'James' 1792-1852.
Born in Geneva descended from an old Huguenot family, studied art under Charles Wielandy and David Detalla. He studied painting in Paris and Rome winning great acclaim. Exhibiting at the Salon from 1820 onwards from which time he began concentrating on sculpture. He was nicknamed 'the last of the Greeks' by his contemporaries for his entrenched classicism. However his work is distinctive for its underlying eroticism. He is best known for the decorative sculpture on the Arc de Triomphe, the Madeleine and Napoleon's Tomb in Les Invalides. Many of his works in marble were also later cast in bronze.
Born in Geneva descended from an old Huguenot family, studied art under Charles Wielandy and David Detalla. He studied painting in Paris and Rome winning great acclaim. Exhibiting at the Salon from 1820 onwards from which time he began concentrating on sculpture. He was nicknamed 'the last of the Greeks' by his contemporaries for his entrenched classicism. However his work is distinctive for its underlying eroticism. He is best known for the decorative sculpture on the Arc de Triomphe, the Madeleine and Napoleon's Tomb in Les Invalides. Many of his works in marble were also later cast in bronze.