Lot Essay
Eugène Delaplanche (1836-1891) studied under Louis Auguste Déligand and then at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, under Francisque-Joseph Duret. First exhibiting at the Paris Salon in 1861, Delaplanche won the Prix de Rome in 1864, from where he sent back to Paris the marble figures, principally of female subjects, which were to establish his reputation, notably Eve après le péché (1869), now in the Musée d'Orsay and shown at the Salon in 1870 and at both the 1873 Vienna and 1878 Paris Exposition universelles.
Other principal works include his allegorical figure La Musique for the Paris Opéra, the marble Vierge au lys and the bronze L'Afrique, both now in the Musée d'Orsay. Many of Delaplanche's works were shown at the 1889 Exposition universelle, and his standing at this time is well-illustrated by his receiving the prestigious commission for the 30-foot high winged figure of Victory which surmounted the main dome of the Palais des Sections Industrielles, the central building at the exhibition.
Depicting Cupid and Psyche, these figural torchères are comparable in execution to two lifesize marble figures of L'Harmonie, and La Musique made by Delaplanche to sit atop the massive bronze and marble cheminée of The Grand Salon at the Hôtel Païva on the Champs-Elysées. Of magnificent scale and quality, yet not figuring in Delaplanche's impressive list of Salon exhibits, these torchères were most probably a special commission designed specifically for an interior scheme comparable in scale and opulence to the Hôtel Païva. The sensuous and elegant rendering of the marble is expertly complemented by the candelabra and metalwork by the prestigious silversmith and bronzier, Christofle et Cie, formally Fournisseur Officiel du Roi Louis-Philippe and Fournisseur de l'Empereur (Napoleon III). Delaplanche is also recorded to have worked with Christofle, albeit on a lesser scale than here, in modelling a statuette for a surtout shown at the 1889 Exposition universelle.
Other principal works include his allegorical figure La Musique for the Paris Opéra, the marble Vierge au lys and the bronze L'Afrique, both now in the Musée d'Orsay. Many of Delaplanche's works were shown at the 1889 Exposition universelle, and his standing at this time is well-illustrated by his receiving the prestigious commission for the 30-foot high winged figure of Victory which surmounted the main dome of the Palais des Sections Industrielles, the central building at the exhibition.
Depicting Cupid and Psyche, these figural torchères are comparable in execution to two lifesize marble figures of L'Harmonie, and La Musique made by Delaplanche to sit atop the massive bronze and marble cheminée of The Grand Salon at the Hôtel Païva on the Champs-Elysées. Of magnificent scale and quality, yet not figuring in Delaplanche's impressive list of Salon exhibits, these torchères were most probably a special commission designed specifically for an interior scheme comparable in scale and opulence to the Hôtel Païva. The sensuous and elegant rendering of the marble is expertly complemented by the candelabra and metalwork by the prestigious silversmith and bronzier, Christofle et Cie, formally Fournisseur Officiel du Roi Louis-Philippe and Fournisseur de l'Empereur (Napoleon III). Delaplanche is also recorded to have worked with Christofle, albeit on a lesser scale than here, in modelling a statuette for a surtout shown at the 1889 Exposition universelle.