CAST FROM A MODEL BY JEAN-BAPTISTE CARPEAUX, PARIS, LAST QUARTER 19TH CENTURY

In 1865, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux was commissioned to model one of the four monumental reliefs for the façade of Charles Garnier's Paris opera house. The allegorical group depicting the Spirit or 'Genius of Dance' surrounded by dancing bacchantes was completed four years later. The controversial monument posed a significant financial burden for Carpeaux as its production cost almost three times his compensation. In an attempt to recoup expenses, the artist began marketing reductions in bronze, terracotta and marble of various segments of the completed group, many of which were subsequently exhibited in the Salons and International Exhibitions. The present lot is the smallest of three reductions, which the atelier edited from 1872 until the beginning of the 20th century.