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拍品專文
Jean Raon was the son of a Parisian stone-cutter who entered the Académie royale in 1665 at the surprisingly mature age of 35. Upon entering, however, his progress was rapid. He had a brief sojourn of three years in the Académie de France in Rome and on his return to Paris was immediately employed in the Bâtiments du Roi; he henceforth took on the positions of academician, professor and finally Conseiller Professeur in 1693.
Raon was held with high regard with the King and was thus often entrusted with task of overseeing the transport of the latter's sculptures. In this role he was known to have collected and then repaired new acquisitions, such as the plaster casts of Trajan's column from Rome in 1671. As a sculptor he worked feverishly conceiving a large number of variations of antique marbles for Versailles and also for the Dôme des Invalides where here created no less than 21 works in-the-round and in relief.
Raon, and later his son Jean-Melchior (1669-1719), also worked for private patrons, as the set of six busts of the Muses and two fauns in the Château de Thoiry (Souchal, op. cit., IV, figs. 47-52) and the four busts in an English private collection by the latter demonstrate (ibid., figs. 14-17). Stylistically identical, and differing only in the relief decoration to the sides of the truncation, the former series relates extremely closely to the present lot (illustrated in Souchal, op. cit, III, no. 46). All demonstrate a virtually identical attention to the physiognomy, which is to some extent classical and idealised, with sharply defined eyelids and incised pupils and similarly rendered hair braids. They are also all lively and expressive, and this is most obvious in the present lot where the young female sitter turns playfully to her dexter and reveals an unusually broad smile. This exaggerated expression highlights an interesting difference between the present lot and the those in the Thoiry series; while Souchal refers to her as representing a Female Satyr (ibid, III, no.46) it is more likely that with her slanted eyes, richly embroidered headdress and lace fringing she is, in fact, an idealised oriental woman. The depiction of such Orientalist themes at this time was certainly not unusual; rococo painters such as Carle Vanloo (1705-1765) painted opulent fantasies of harems and sultans, while Jean-Baptiste van Mour (1671-1737) who lived in Turkey during the 18th century provided a seemingly more authentic glimpse of the East.
In the conception of this bust, Raon is, in a distinct change of subject matter, effectively showing his versatility as a sculptor; having conceived classically-based themes for Versailles and religious ones for the Invalides, he has drawn inspiration from more contemporary and fashionable sources.
Raon was held with high regard with the King and was thus often entrusted with task of overseeing the transport of the latter's sculptures. In this role he was known to have collected and then repaired new acquisitions, such as the plaster casts of Trajan's column from Rome in 1671. As a sculptor he worked feverishly conceiving a large number of variations of antique marbles for Versailles and also for the Dôme des Invalides where here created no less than 21 works in-the-round and in relief.
Raon, and later his son Jean-Melchior (1669-1719), also worked for private patrons, as the set of six busts of the Muses and two fauns in the Château de Thoiry (Souchal, op. cit., IV, figs. 47-52) and the four busts in an English private collection by the latter demonstrate (ibid., figs. 14-17). Stylistically identical, and differing only in the relief decoration to the sides of the truncation, the former series relates extremely closely to the present lot (illustrated in Souchal, op. cit, III, no. 46). All demonstrate a virtually identical attention to the physiognomy, which is to some extent classical and idealised, with sharply defined eyelids and incised pupils and similarly rendered hair braids. They are also all lively and expressive, and this is most obvious in the present lot where the young female sitter turns playfully to her dexter and reveals an unusually broad smile. This exaggerated expression highlights an interesting difference between the present lot and the those in the Thoiry series; while Souchal refers to her as representing a Female Satyr (ibid, III, no.46) it is more likely that with her slanted eyes, richly embroidered headdress and lace fringing she is, in fact, an idealised oriental woman. The depiction of such Orientalist themes at this time was certainly not unusual; rococo painters such as Carle Vanloo (1705-1765) painted opulent fantasies of harems and sultans, while Jean-Baptiste van Mour (1671-1737) who lived in Turkey during the 18th century provided a seemingly more authentic glimpse of the East.
In the conception of this bust, Raon is, in a distinct change of subject matter, effectively showing his versatility as a sculptor; having conceived classically-based themes for Versailles and religious ones for the Invalides, he has drawn inspiration from more contemporary and fashionable sources.