Jan Jozef Jaquet

Psyche / - Fulfilled longing -

1847

Fritz Heinemann (1864 Altena - 1932 Berlin), Young Roman, 1892. Brownish patinated bronze on a cast round plinth, mounted on a red marble base (8.5 cm high), total height 36 cm, dime...

Eugène Laurent (1832 Gray - 1898 Paris), Joan of Arc, around 1880. Brown patinated bronze on a cast rectangular plinth with tree trunk and distaff. 40 cm (height) x 15.5 cm (length) x 15.5 cm (depth), weight 6.1 kg. Signed “E.[ugène] Laurent.” on the plinth and inscribed “HZ” on the reverse. - somewhat stained due to patina, traces of oxidation behind the distaff, slightly rubbed in places, overall still in very good condition for its age - The Liberating Power of Faith - At the age of 13, Jeanne, a peasant girl born in Lorraine around 1412, heard the voices of Saints Catherine and Margaret and the Archangel Michael telling her that she had been chosen to liberate France from English occupation. By 1428, Henry VI's troops had advanced to the Loire and besieged Orléans, a strategic city for the further conquest of France. Joan of Arc went to the exile of Charles VII and, with the king's consent, led the French army into battle against the besiegers. After four days of fighting, the English were defeated and Orléans was liberated. Other victorious battles followed, until in 1430 she fell into the hands of the enemy, who had her executed as a witch by the Inquisition. In May 1431, Joan of Arc was burned at Rouen. After the final expulsion of the English, the "Maid of Orleans" was rehabilitated by the Church in 1456. She was finally canonized in 1920. By then, Joan of Arc had become a national heroine and the patron saint of France. After the French Revolution, the strengthening of the nation-state and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, Joan of Arc was again venerated and depicted in numerous bronze statues. Eugène Laurent depicts the young girl listening to the voices of the saints who reveal her destiny. With her eyes wide open, she gazes at the sky as if she were looking at the revealed future. Her hands are clasped in prayer, indicating her willingness to face her destiny. Leaning against a tree trunk, she treads with one foot on a raised stone, which, together with her upward gaze, gives her an upward movement that announces her higher mission. At the same time, however, she steps down from the stone to the earth, emphasizing her earthly mission, for which she has already taken the first step. In doing so, she steps over the discarded distaff, which refers to her "lower" origins and belongs to the life she has now left behind. Laurent manages to capture the fateful emotion that makes us look at Joan of Arc in awe, even though she is a simple peasant girl. Even if the design is aimed at the overall impression, the artist has nevertheless worked out certain details, such as the tied waistcoat, very realistically and, in addition to the skin, has particularly depicted the material quality of the textiles. About the artist Eugène Laurent studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he won a prize in 1860. He then joined the studio of Jacques Antoine Theodore Coinchon. As a freelance artist, he supplied the Paris Salon with statues, portrait busts, and medallions from 1861 to 1893. He also created large sculptures such as the monument to Jacques Callot in Nancy (1877) and the statue of François Boucher at the Paris City Hall. GERMAN VERSION Eugène Laurent (1832 Gray - 1898 Paris), Jeanne d’Arc, um 1880. Braun patinierte Bronze auf mitgegossener rechteckiger Plinthe mit Baumstamm und Spinnrocken. 40 cm (Höhe) x 15,5 cm (Länge) x 15,5, cm (Tiefe), Gewicht 6,1 kg. Auf der Plinthe mit „E.[ugène] Laurent.“ signiert und rückseitig mit „HZ“ bezeichnet. - patinabedingt etwas fleckig, Oxidationsspuren hinter dem Spinnrocken, stellenweise leicht berieben, insgesamt in einem altersgemäß noch sehr guten Zustand - Die befreiende Kraft des Glaubens - Als 13jähige vernahm das um 1412 in Lothringen geborene Bauernmädchen Jeanne Stimmen der Heiligen Katharina und Margarete und des Erzengels Michael, die ihr verkündeten, auserwählt zu sein, Frankreich von der englischen Besatzung zu befreien. 1428 waren die Truppen von Heinrich VI. bis zur Loire vorgerückt und belagerten die für eine Weitereroberung Frankreichs strategisch wichtige Stadt Orléans. Jeanne d’Arc begab sich ins Exil Karls VII. und führte mit der Einwilligung des Königs das französische Heer gegen die Belagerer ins Feld. Nach viertätiger Schlacht unterlagen die Engländer und Orléans war befreit. Es folgten weitere siegreiche Kämpfen bis sie 1430 in die Hände des Feindes fiel, der bei der Inquisition ihre Hinrichtung als Hexe erwirkte. Im Mai 1431 wurde Jeanne d’Arc in Rouen verbrannt. Im Anschluss an die endgültige Vertreibung der Engländer wurde die „Jungfrau von Orléans“ 1456 von der Kirche rehabilitiert. 1920 erfolgte schließlich ihre Heiligsprechung. Inzwischen galt Jeanne d’Arc als Nationalheldin und Schutzpatronin Frankreichs. In der Nachfolge der Französischen Revolution, dem Erstarken der Nationalstaatlichkeit und dem Deutsch-Französischen Krieg von 1870/71 erfuhr Jeanne d‘Art eine neue Verehrung und wurde in zahlreichen Bronzestatuen dargestellt. Eugène Laurent zeigt das junge Mädchen wie sie die Stimmen der Heiligen vernimmt, die ihr das von der Vorsehung bestimmte Schicksal offenbaren. Mit weit geöffneten Augen blickt sie gen Himmel als ob sie die offenbarte Zukunft schauen würde. Dabei hat sie die Hände in Gebetshaltung geschlossen, was zugleich vom Willen kündet, sich ihrem Schicksal zu stellen. An einen Baumstamm gelehnt, tritt sie mit dem einen Fuß auf einen erhöhten Stein, was ihr – zusammen mit dem aufwärts gerichteten Blick – eine von ihrer höheren Mission kündende Aufwärtsbewegung verleiht. Zugleich tritt sie aber auch von dem Stein auf die Erde herab, wodurch ihre irdische Mission hervorgehoben wird, zu der sie bereits den ersten Schritt getan hat. Dabei steigt sie über den abgelegten Spinnrocken hinweg, der auf ihre ‚niedere‘ Herkunft verweist und zum nun abgelegten Leben gehört. Laurent gelingt es, die schicksalhafte Ergriffenheit zur Darstellung zu bringen, die uns Jeanne d‘Arc, obwohl sie ein einfaches Bauernmädchen ist, ehrfürchtig betrachten lässt. Auch wenn die Gestaltung auf den Gesamteindruck zielt, hat der Künstler doch einzelne Details, wie die zugebundene Weste, äußerst realitätsnah herausgearbeitet und neben der Haut insbesondere die stoffliche Qualität der Textilien zur Darstellung gebracht. zum Künstler Eugène Laurent studierte an der Pariser École des Beaux-Arts und wurde 1860 von der Akademie mit einem Preis ausgezeichnet. Anschließend trat er in das Atelier Jacques Antoine Theodore Coinchon ein. Als freischaffender Künstler beschickte er von 1861 bis 1893 den Pariser Salon mit Statuen, Porträtbüsten und Medaillons. Zudem schuf er Großplastiken wie das Denkmal Jacques Callots in Nancy (1877) und die Statue...

Adolphe Jean Lavergne (1863-1928), Pecheur, c. 1900. Brown patinated bronze with rectangular cast plinth on a green marble base (3 cm high), total height with hinge 37 cm, width 9 cm, depth 8 cm, weight 2.9 kg, signed “Lavergne” on the plinth. - Base with old drilling and a few oxidized areas, patina occasionally rubbed, somewhat stained in the folds. - Full of anticipation - This bronze is the larger, highly detailed version of the fisherman that made Parisian artist Adolphe Jean Lavergne famous. In preparation for fishing, the boy prepares his rod before heading out to sea. The attachment of the iron ring and the rope behind him suggest a quay wall and a boat moored there. However, the depiction is entirely focused on the actual action of the young fisherman: With equal skill and concentration, he bends a hook to connect it to the fishing line. The contrast with his casual clothing, the loose-fitting trousers, the open shirt with its "wild" folds, and, last but not least, the sun hat boldly perched on his neck, reinforces the impression of the attentive care with which he goes about his work. His gaze makes him appear absorbed, as if he has forgotten the world around him and yet he is visibly filled with anticipation of fishing. GERMAN VERSION Adolphe Jean Lavergne (1863-1928), Pecheur, um 1890. Braun patinierte Bronze mit rechteckiger gegossener Plinthe auf grünem Marmorsockel (3 cm Höhe), Gesamthöhe mit Angel 37 cm, Breite 9 cm, Tiefe 8 cm, Gewicht 2,9 kg, auf der Plinthe mit „Lavergne“ signiert. - Sockel mit alter Bohrung und wenigen oxidierten Stellen, Patina mitunter berieben, in den Falten vereinzelt etwas fleckig. - Voller Vorfreude - Die Bronzefigur ist die größere äußerst detaillierte Ausführung des Fischers, mit dem der Pariser Künstler Adolphe Jean Lavergne bekannt geworden ist. In Vorbereitung auf das Fischen präpariert der Junge die Angel...

Paul Dubois (1829 Nogent-sur-Seine - 1905 Paris), Florentine singer, 1865. Light brown patinated bronze with cast round plinth mounted on a square marble base (3.5 cm high). Total height 53 cm. Bronze dimensions: 49.5 cm (height) x 20 cm (length) x 10 cm (width), weight 5.6 kg. Inscribed on the plinth "P.[aul] DUBOIS", dated "1865", with the foundry's mark "F. BARBEDIENNE FONDEUR" and the signet "REDUCTION MECANIQUE A. COLLAS". - Patina very occasionally darkened, lute with loss of one tuning peg, otherwise in excellent condition. - The renaissance of the Renaissance - The bronze is a precisely executed and masterfully cast contemporary reduction of Paul Dubois 155 cm tall masterpiece "Florentine Singer", which is exhibited in the Musée d'Orsay and for which the artist was awarded the Medal of Honor at the Paris Salon in 1865. The work acted as a beacon, and was followed by a plethora of depictions of juveniles. Inspired by Donatello and Luca della Robbia, but also by painters such as Piero della Francesca, Benozzo Gozzoli, and Pinturicchio, the "Florentine Singer" is not an epigonal work that pays homage to a vanished era, but a successful attempt to draw vitality from the art of the past and thus give it new life. The effect of vitality is the core of Italian Renaissance art theory. In order to fulfill itself as art, art had to appear like nature. This naturalism also characterizes the "Florentine Singer". The young man appears to have been taken from life, which is reinforced by the momentary nature of his action. He has just struck a now fading chord. In addition, the natural appearance is enhanced by the detailed shaping of the figurative details, such as the laces with the slightly curved leather of the shoes, the belt buckle, or the ornamentation on the body of the lute. Even the fingernails are clearly defined. Unlike the Renaissance, however, the effect of liveliness here is not based on the "discovery" of nature and the human body, but primarily on the rediscovery of the art of the Quattrocento. The liveliness of the artwork is therefore at the same time a revitalization of this art, so that we can speak of a Renaissance of the Renaissance, just as the Pre-Raphaelites in England at the same time transferred the Quattrocento to contemporary art. Dubois takes on the most difficult of all subjects, the depiction of singing through silent sculpture. He was preceded in this by Luca della Robbia and Donatello with their pulpits of singers created in the 1430s in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence. Compared to these works, the physiognomy of Dubois singer is far less animated, yet he also depicts singing in a convincing manner. He uses the whole body. He takes the ancient contrapposto, which was essential to Renaissance sculpture, and transforms the standing leg-playing posture into a late medieval S-swing, giving the body an elegant beauty and at the same time setting it in melodic motion. In the equally elegant finger position, the music is expressed in a much more literal way with the beating of the lute. Finally, the musicality of the sculpture culminates in the face with the mouth open to sing. Through the act of singing, which is a great challenge to the artistic will to depict perfect beauty, the gracefulness of the classical face is not diminished, but enhanced. Starting from the face with the singing mouth and the gaze absorbed by the sounds, the inner vitality spreads, giving the bronze sculpture an intense aura, enhanced by the music. Dubois transfers the beauty of the Renaissance to the musical, sublimating the visible sculpture to the invisible of music. He took up the challenge of transcending the Renaissance with the Renaissance, thus responding to the Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes, which arose at the end of the 17th century around the French Academy and remained virulent into the 19th century, in which antiquity was regarded either as an unattainable ideal or as a standard to be surpassed. With his work, Dubois proved that the Renaissance, which had championed the art of the ancients, could lead to a new renaissance of art. About the artist Paul Dubois' great-uncle was the famous French Baroque sculptor Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, in whose footsteps the talented great-nephew followed. When he debuted at the Paris Salon in 1858, he signed his work "Dubois-Pigalle". At his father's request, however, he first studied law before devoting himself to sculpture under the tutelage of François Christophe Armand Toussaint in 1856 and entering the École des Beaux-Arts in 1858. From 1859 to 1863, he lived in Rome and traveled to Naples and Florence. Inspired by Florentine art of the quattrocento, Dubois initiated a school-forming neo-Florentine style that combined the elegantly simple forms of youthful grace with a precise wealth of detail.Two purchases by the French state (“envois de Rome”) were made during his stay in Rome, which brought him recognition in Paris. After his return there, he quickly became an internationally sought-after artist. Dubois was also active as a creator of monuments. His most famous work is the equestrian statue of Joan of Arc (1896) on the forecourt of Reims Cathedral. He was also a sought-after portraitist who produced around 50 busts and - Dubois was also a passionate painter - around 100 portraits in oil. From 1873 to 1878 he was curator of the Museum du Luxembourg, in 1876 he became a member of the Institut de France and from 1878 to 1905 he was director of the École des Beaux-Arts. In 1865, Dubois was awarded the Paris Salon Medal of Honor for his “Florentine Singer”. In 1867 he became Chevalier, in 1874 Officier, in 1886 Commandeur of the Légion d'honneur, which awarded Dubois the Grande Croix in 1896. Selected Bibliography Stole, Elmar: Paul Dubois. In: Saur. Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon, vol. 30, Munich - Leipzig 2001, pp. 677-678. GERMAN VERSION Paul Dubois (1829 Nogent-sur-Seine - 1905 Paris), Florentinischer Sänger, 1865. Hellbraun patinierte Bronze mit gegossener runder Plinthe auf quadratischem Marmorsockel montiert (3,5 cm Höhe). Gesamthöhe 53 cm. Maße der Bronze: 49,5 cm (Höhe) x 20 cm (Länge) x 10 cm (Breite), Gewicht 5,6 kg. Auf der Plinthe mit „P.[aul] DUBOIS“ bezeichnet, auf „1865“ datiert, mit dem Gießereistempel „F. BARBEDIENNE FONDEUR“ und dem Signet „REDUCTION MECANIQUE A. COLLAS“ versehen. - Patina sehr vereinzelt nachgedunkelt, Laute mit Verlust eines Stimmwirbels, ansonsten ausgezeichnet erhalten. - Die Renaissance...

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