John Singer Sargent

How They Met Themselves By John Singer Sargent

Early 20th century

This highly evocative bronze by Vincenzo Vela captures the deposed Emperor Napoléon on his deathbed, holding a map of Europe and lost in thought about what might have been. Remarkable among most portrayals of the exiled leader, this highly detailed sculpture depicts Napoléon at his most vulnerable. Nonetheless, Vela perfectly captures his still-heroic bearing, which imparts to this work a monumental quality and quiet dignity. The mate to this figure is the colossal marble at the Musée du Château de Malmaison, which was shown at the Paris Salon of 1867. The founder of the verismo movement in Italy, Vela was one of the great exponents of realism in sculpture. Born in Ligornetto, Switzerland in 1820, he studied under celebrated sculptor, Benedetto Cacciatori. He was also influenced both by the work of Tuscan sculptor Lorenzo Bartolini, who seamlessly combined neoclassicism with naturalism and the romantic painting of Francesco Hayez...

King Louis XIV, one of France's greatest monarchs, sits confidently astride a prancing steed in this bronze equestrian statue. The extraordinary work is a reduction of the portrait of the Sun King by François Girardon, one of the most noted and influential sculptors of the period. Looking back to the great masterpieces of antiquity, Girardon took his inspiration from the seminal ancient Roman marble of Marcus Aurelius, now in the Musei Capitoline (Rome). Louis XIV is thus portrayed here as a conquering Roman hero, his costume adorned with many neoclassical motifs, hand outstretched in a gesture of command. The result is an imposing royal portrait of power and absolute authority that pays homage to one of the most important sovereigns in French history. It was in 1685, at the very height of his rule, when Louis XIV commissioned the monumental bronze of himself from the great Girardon. As sculptor to the king, Girardon was a key figure in the decoration of the gardens at the Château de Versailles, and he was later commissioned to complete several important royal...

Large and heavy with magnificent patina. This is the large version of this piece. we cannot find any markings on it and it might be unique. Nicky Imber (Vienna, Austria, 1920 -1996) was a multidisciplinary Jewish artist best known for his sculptures on Jewish themes. Grand nephew of Naftali Herz Imber, author of the Israeli national anthem 'Hatikva'. After escaping the Nazi concentration camp in Dachau, he pledged to dedicate his art to perpetuating the memory of the Holocaust. Among his more famous works are "The Hope" and "The Love of Torah". His work can be seen around the world, in Northern Israel, the United States, and the Venezuelan Museum of Natural History in Caracas. Nicky Imber was born in Vienna, Austria. During his studies at the Academy of Arts in Vienna, he drew anti-Nazi caricatures for Jewish student publications. After several thwarted attempts by the family to leave Vienna, in 1938, in the wake of the 'Anschluss', Imber was deported to Dachau. Witnessing the murders of family and friends, he plotted his escape. Using skills he had learned in art school, he made a face mask out of bread and sand, stole a Nazi soldier's uniform and walked out the front gate unnoticed. In 1940, he boarded a ship headed to Haifa. The ship's passengers were refused entry by the British mandatory authorities and imprisoned in a detention camp in Mauritius. In 1943, Imber worked out a deal with the authorities for his release by joining the British Army, serving as a war artist and a dental assistant in East Africa. After the war, he opened an art school in Nairobi, Kenya, and worked as a photographer and a safari guide. In 1949 to 1954, he lived in Venezuela, where he was contracted to do an East African Diorama series. The National Museum added an entire wing to display it. During this period he got married and had a daughter Raquel, who accompanied and assisted him. In 1959, Imber was commissioned to create sculptures and dioramas for the Haifa Prehistory Museum at Gan Ha-em in Haifa, Israel. In 1960 he returned to Venezuela to restaured the Phelps series of Dioramas for the Museum in Caracas. Between 1961 and 1971 he travelled extensively around Europe and after establishing an international name for himself, returned to the United States. In New York he became famous for his realistic oil paintings of portraits of Aga Khan, Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner, David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir, Sir Richard Burton...

Limited edition bronze sculpture by Polish artist Olga Prokop-Misniakiewicz. Artist signes her artworks by hand, using engraving tool. Edition of 5. Olga Prokop-Misniakiewicz likes t...