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Lot Essay
The original models for the present lot, which are probably dateable to 1768, have been the subject of dispute since 1823. While Charles- Antoine Bridan is now accepted as author of the models, they were, for a time, thought to be by the hand of Jean-Baptiste Pigalle. In Gaborit's monograph on Pigalle (loc. cit.) he explains that the confusion arose in 1823 when the founder Pierre-Philippe Thomire made bronze reproductions of the two terracotta figures in the Musée Municipal de Chartres and signed them 'Pigalle 1768'.
Bridan was originally commissioned to make a unique group for the cardinal of Luynes (Lami, loc. cit.) but possibly due to the popularity of the model he went on to produce another five marble versions. The Cleveland bronzes are interpretations of Bridan's models and differ not only in their monumental size but also that they are free-standing without the tree trunks in the other models and with other minor differences in the modeling.
Bridan was originally commissioned to make a unique group for the cardinal of Luynes (Lami, loc. cit.) but possibly due to the popularity of the model he went on to produce another five marble versions. The Cleveland bronzes are interpretations of Bridan's models and differ not only in their monumental size but also that they are free-standing without the tree trunks in the other models and with other minor differences in the modeling.