Paul Dubois Furniture

Total height with mirror: 383 cm (151 in.) Console : Height : 97 cm (38 in.) ; Length : 291 cm (114 in.) ; Depth : 47 cm (18 in.) Height with pedestals : 178 cm (70 in.) – Width of pedestals tops : 36 x 23 cm (14 x 9 in.) Provenance: Hôtel de Bourbon-Condé, for the Conte de Chambrun, 12 rue Monsieur, 7th arrondissement, Paris. This magnificent white carrare and bleu turquin marble Louis XVI style console is embellished with carved and gilded bronze ornaments. The belt, adorned with a fluted frieze, masks of Bacchus and rosettes, is standing on six spirally fluted feet with foliage on the extremities. The part meant to be placed against the wall is divided in several pannels framed with moulded and beaded bronze. Above the console stands a giltwood and white-painted mirror, richly decorated at its top with a carved head of Apollo flanked by acanthus leaves and treillis. The mirror is framed by two patinated bronze female figures, each holding seven-light candelabra and standing on pedestals richly adorned with laurel garlands and bronze frames. These are casts by F.Barbedienne, after models by J.A.J. Falguière and P.Dubois (they are signed to the base, one ‘FALGVIERE and F.BARBEDIENNE. FONDEUR’, the other ‘P.DUBOIS’ and ‘F.BARBEDIENNE’). The original models of these bronzes were shown at the 1867 Exposition Universelle before being installed at the Château de Compiègne for the enjoyment of Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie. The masterful console was commissionned to Barbedienne around 1880 to garnish the interiors of the Conte de Chambrun at the Hôtel de Bourbon-Condé, 12 rue Monsieur, 7th arrondissement, Paris. This console was part of the sale of the count’s art and furniture collections that took place on the 18th of June 1900 after the count’s death (listed as lot n°52 in the sale catalogue). Born in 1810, died in Paris in 1892, Ferdinand Barbedienne, the most important caster of bronze pieces of art during the second half of the 19th Century, created and directed in Paris one of the major artistic founderies of his time. Barbedienne specialised in classical reproductions, whose models were exposed in famous European museums. Their illustrated catalogues included many diverse objects such as busts, ornemental sculpture (clocks, candelabras, cups) sometimes even life-sized and also bronzes for furniture. Apart from his own production, Barbedienne worked for the most renowned sculptors such as Barrias, Clésinger and Carrier-Belleuse. All his works were highly esteemed and he, himself honoured by contemporary critics. At the London exhibition in 1851 Barbedienne's firm won two « Council medals ». At the 1855 Universal Exhibition, he won a medal of honour. The success of Barbedienne's firm brought him many official commissions. At the London Universal Exhibition of 1862 Barbedienne won medals in three different categories : Furniture, Silversmith work and Artistic bronzes. Barbedienne was made an officer of the Légion d'Honneur in 1867 and Commander in 1878 when he was compared with « a prince of industry and the king of bronze casting ». His glory did not decline with the passage of the time for at the Universal Exhibition of 1889 the critics thanked Barbedienne for the example he set for other bronze-casters by the perfection of his bronzes. Paul Dubois (1829-1905) studied law before entering the workshop of Toussaint, then the School of Fine Arts. After travelling in Italy, he participated to the Salon of 1863 and won the third medal for the sculpture category. He won several other medals : the Medal of Honour with his Florentine Singer...

MODEL PRESENTED AT THE 1867 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION Listed in the Ferdinand Barbedienne’s catalogue as the “Deux femmes debout” (Two standing ladies) Signed on each one P. Dubois – F. Barbedienne Fondeur and A. Falguière – F. Barbedienne Fondeur Rare pair of parcel-gilt and patinated bronze figures, representing two women dressed in Antique style costume with jewels, each upholding a seven lights-arm candelabra. Standing on round bronze bases and black marble socles. Paul Dubois (1827-1905) entered the Paris Beaux-Arts School in 1858. He exhibited at the 1865 Salon the Chanteur Florentin, illustrating Florentine sculpture, observed after his journey in Italy. This work, cast that time in silvered bronze, was exhibited at the 1867 Paris Universal Exhibition (now preserved at the Orsay museum). Dubois' success brought him many commissions, both private (Portrait of Duc d'Aumale) and public (Jeanne d'Arc, in Reims). Appointed curator at the Luxembourg museum in 1873, Dubois became also a member of the Institute and finally headmaster at the Beaux-Arts School in 1878. Alexandre Falguière (1831-1900) studied under Jouffroy at the Paris Ecole des Beaux-Arts, began his career at the Paris Salon in 1857 and won as soon as 1859 the “Prix de Rome”. Falguière became very quickly successful and was several times awarded medals at the Salon, such in 1868 with his marble sculpture Tarcisius the Christian Boy-Martyr, or at the 1867 Paris Universal Exhibition, where he won the first medal in his category. Thanks to that success, he was immediately commissioned by private collectors as well as by the French State, whom asked him in 1878 to realize the Triomphe de la République, placed in 1881 at the summit of the Paris Arch of Triumph...

Large double patina bronze representing the Florentine Singer of the 15th century, signed P Dubois Fr The young and elegant boy, standing, plays and sings, leaning against a column:...

Signed P. Dubois 1865 and F. Barbedienne fondeur Stamped with réduction mécanique Collas A patinated bronze « Florentine Singer » sculpture, inspir...

A large bronze sculpture of the Harlequin by Paul Dubois, 19th century, Napoleon III period. Bronze sculpture by Paul Dubois, the Harlequin, 19th century, Napoleon III period, bronz...

Mounted as lamps and cast by Ferdinand Barbedienne after models by Alexandre Falguiere and Paul Dubois. Both statues are signed on the bases. These fine torchères are reductions ...

A Pair of Gilt and Patinated Bronze Figural Five-Light Candelabra Cast by Barbedienne after the Models by Alexandre Falguière and Paul Dubois. Signed ‘FALGUIERE’ and ‘P. DUBOIS’ ...

A wonderful late 19th century bronze sculpture entitled "Marquerite" Signed P. Dubois The bronze depicting a beautiful woman playing the harp. Paul Dubois was born on the 18...

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...

"The mother", sculpture by Paul Dubois in brown patinated bronze, foundry Barbedienne (1829 - 1905) Measures: H: 66 cm, W: 24 cm, D: 32 cm.

Vase in ceramic signed P Dubois and dated 67 in perfect conditions

"The Mother" is a remarkable patinated bronze sculpture created by the renowned French artist, Paul Dubois. This masterpiece captures the essence of maternal love, depicting a mother...

An elegant and high quality true pair of French 19th century Neo-Classical st. Ormolu and patinated Bronze statues, signed Paul Dubois. Each beautiful maiden is raised by an Ormolu a...

Late 19th-20th century, Continental school, French; cast bronze sculpture; depicting a well modeled figure of a young boy, draped in a net, his arm resting on an anchor, holding a fi...