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RICHARD REDDING ANTIQUES |
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RICHARD REDDING ANTIQUES |
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A very fine Louis XV marble statuette attributed to Etienne-Maurice Falconet, portraying a beautiful nude figure of Venus seated on a low draped seat, her outstretched legs crossed at the ankles with flowers in her coiled hair and head bowed looking down to a dove supported by her right hand, on an oval fluted plinth with a coiled gilt bronze band above and berried laurel leaf band below on a brêche d’Alep marble base Paris, date 1760 Height 40 cm, width 35 cm, depth 28 cm. This delicate and alluring statuette compares to a number of other models by the leading eighteenth century sculptor Etienne-Maurice Falconet (1716-91), in particular to another attributed marble ‘Flore’ in the Musée du Louvre Paris. Not only is the composition similar but also the treatment of the figure. As here, ‘Flore’ portrays a young and beautiful female nude, with elongated limbs, sloping shoulders seated on a draped plinth, her legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. She also wears flowers in her hair and has her eyes cast down toward flowers, while here she focuses on a dove, often associated with the goddess of love. Close parallels also exist between Falconet’s ‘Venus and the Doves’ (Samuel Kress Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.), which likewise shows a seated Venus, albeit almost fully dressed and accompanied by two amorini. She too has graceful elongated limbs with legs in a similar pose and conformingly lowered head. Though erotic, Falconet’s work tends to avoid any sense of vulgarity, which he partially achieves by showing his females with their eyes cast down. This common feature is also apparent in his famous ‘Baigneuse’ formerly owned by Madame du Barry (1757, Musée du Louvre Paris) as well as in his ‘Hiver’ (Hermitage Museum Saint Petersburg). Born into a poor family Falconet was originally apprenticed to a carpenter. During his leisure hours he would model clay figures, which attracted the attention of the sculptor, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne (1710-74), who made him his pupil. Making rapid progress he was accepted into the Académie in1744 but did not make his debut with ‘Milon de Crotone’ until the following year. Working in a ‘cool Rococo’ style, which also reflected classical elements, Falconet showed a preference for an intimate scale, gaining acclaim for his graceful female nudes somewhat akin to a type portrayed by the leading Rococo painter François Boucher (1703-70). His supreme talents made him a favourite of Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV’s mistress for whom he modelled among others his seated Cupid, ‘L’Amour Menaçant’ (Musée du Louvre). This was one of many to be reproduced in biscuit porcelain at the newly founded Sèvres Factory, where he served as Director from 1757-66. Many of his models for Sèvres were reduced versions of his own Salon exhibits of which his ‘Pygmalion et Galathée’ (Musée du Louvre) was singled out by the critic Denis Diderot. On Diderot’s recommendation, in 1766 Falconet was invited by Catherine the Great to St Petersburg to execute a colossal equestrian bronze statue of Peter the Great. Considered his masterpiece this heroic bronze was very different from previous pieces, in which the huge horse was represented with its forelegs raised derived from a type introduced by Bernini. During his years in St Petersburg, 1766-78 he devoted much of his enforced leisure time (due to local difficulties) to writing. In 1783, having returned to Paris he suffered a stroke and thereafter ceased sculpture but continued to write. In addition to work for Sèvres, Falconet provided models for elaborate silver centrepieces and salts; his designs also inspired a number of clock cases, for instance one attributed to him representing ‘Les Trois Grâces’ (Musée du Louvre). His only other large-scale commission, executed before going to Russia was a series of eight statues for the church of St Roch, but sadly all but one were destroyed during the Revolution. |