Sale 10701
London
|
8 December 2015
Price realised
GBP 5,000
Estimate
A TERRACOTTA BUST OF VOLTAIRE ATTRIBUTED TO JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI (1725-1792), FRENCH, LATE 18TH CENTURY On a circular fleur de pêche marble socle 7 in. (18 cm.) high; 9 ½ in. (24 cm.) high, overall
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Literature
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE: Louis Réau, Une dynastie de sculpteurs au XVIIIème siècle, Les Lemoyne, Paris, 1927, pp. 101-115 and 150, fig. 91.
This bust of Voltaire is a reduced copy of a marble by Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne (1704-1778), exhibited at the Salon in 1748. The philosopher is depicted young, with delicate features and an intense look which conveys a great liveliness. A very similar example is conserved at the Victoria and Albert Museum, signed Caffieri and dated 1783 (A. 1-1956).
Pre-Lot Text
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