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Lot Essay
Jean-Joseph Foucou, a pupil of Caffieri and a contemporary of Clodion, was an Academician and a regular contributor to the Salons from 1779-1812.
A life-size marble of a 'Bacchante portant un petit satyre' (Musée du Louvre) was originally conceived for the park at Fontainebleau. This marble and its plaster model (Musée d'Orléans) were traditionally attributed to Clodion despite stylistic and technical discrepancies. However, an identical smaller model (Musée de Marseille) with Foucou's signature and the date 1777 cements the attribution of these other examples.
According to S. Lami, Dictonnaire des sculpteurs de l'école française, vol. I, 1910, pp. 351-2, Foucou exhibited a marble entitled 'Erigone' in 1806. Although no size is given for this carving, it is possible that the present marble is this same example.
When comparing the present marbles to the other Foucou 'Bacchantes', one can see the same austere classical and controlled hand. Moreover, the early entry date of 1816 of these works into a public collection supports the attribution to the hand of this French master.
A life-size marble of a 'Bacchante portant un petit satyre' (Musée du Louvre) was originally conceived for the park at Fontainebleau. This marble and its plaster model (Musée d'Orléans) were traditionally attributed to Clodion despite stylistic and technical discrepancies. However, an identical smaller model (Musée de Marseille) with Foucou's signature and the date 1777 cements the attribution of these other examples.
According to S. Lami, Dictonnaire des sculpteurs de l'école française, vol. I, 1910, pp. 351-2, Foucou exhibited a marble entitled 'Erigone' in 1806. Although no size is given for this carving, it is possible that the present marble is this same example.
When comparing the present marbles to the other Foucou 'Bacchantes', one can see the same austere classical and controlled hand. Moreover, the early entry date of 1816 of these works into a public collection supports the attribution to the hand of this French master.