CAST BY SUSSE FRÈRES FROM THE MODEL BY ADRIEN-ETIENNE GAUDEZ, CIRCA 1880

During the Third Republic (1870-1940), the French government wanted to remind the nation and the world of the supremacy of their culture. As a direct result, Susse first included Molière enfant in their 1875 catalogue. With this model, Gaudez (d.1902) recreates a well-known incident in the life of an upholsterer's apprentice who would grow up to become the renowned French actor and author of the 17th Century. Gaudez studied under Jouffroy and began exhibiting at the Salon in 1864 where he won a first class medal in 1881 (see P. Cadet, Susse Frères, Paris, 1992, p. 59).