Lot Essay
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
I. Wardropper, Michel Anguier's Series of Bronze Gods and Goddesses: A Re-examination, Marsyas, XVIII, 1975, pp. 23-36, pl. IX.
It is recorded by Guillet de Saint-Georges in a biography of 1690 that Anguier created a series of bronze statuettes of Gods and Goddesses in 1652. The text states that he created six figures and then goes on to mention seven, including 'une Amphitrite tranquille', which is identifiable with the present model. The crayfish in her hand and the dolphin at her feet identify her with her element, the sea.
In the above biography, the bronze group was documented as being in the collection of 'M. Montarsis, joallier du roi', and although it is likely that Saint-Georges was referring to Pierre le Tessier de Montarsis, it is more than possible that the group was originally purchased by his father Laurent. Laurent le Tessier de Montarsis was also Keeper of the Royal Jewel's and the King's Jeweller and a man of taste and sophistication, with the means at his disposal to have commissioned the bronzes as a group. Amongst other items in his extensive collection were two Raphael's, the Bridgewater Madonna and the Washington Saint George (I. Wardropper, op. cit., passim).
Of all Anguier's creations, the Amphitrite was to prove the most celebrated. In 1654 Anguier was commissioned by Nicholas Fouquet, Louis XIV's Finance Minister, to carve 14 life-size figures in limestone, including the Amphitrite. A marble version was made by Massé for the gardens at Versailles, and bronzes of various sizes, often paired with male gods, are known.
I. Wardropper, Michel Anguier's Series of Bronze Gods and Goddesses: A Re-examination, Marsyas, XVIII, 1975, pp. 23-36, pl. IX.
It is recorded by Guillet de Saint-Georges in a biography of 1690 that Anguier created a series of bronze statuettes of Gods and Goddesses in 1652. The text states that he created six figures and then goes on to mention seven, including 'une Amphitrite tranquille', which is identifiable with the present model. The crayfish in her hand and the dolphin at her feet identify her with her element, the sea.
In the above biography, the bronze group was documented as being in the collection of 'M. Montarsis, joallier du roi', and although it is likely that Saint-Georges was referring to Pierre le Tessier de Montarsis, it is more than possible that the group was originally purchased by his father Laurent. Laurent le Tessier de Montarsis was also Keeper of the Royal Jewel's and the King's Jeweller and a man of taste and sophistication, with the means at his disposal to have commissioned the bronzes as a group. Amongst other items in his extensive collection were two Raphael's, the Bridgewater Madonna and the Washington Saint George (I. Wardropper, op. cit., passim).
Of all Anguier's creations, the Amphitrite was to prove the most celebrated. In 1654 Anguier was commissioned by Nicholas Fouquet, Louis XIV's Finance Minister, to carve 14 life-size figures in limestone, including the Amphitrite. A marble version was made by Massé for the gardens at Versailles, and bronzes of various sizes, often paired with male gods, are known.