Pierre Jules Cavelier Bronze Sculpture of Penelope by F. Barbedienne
By Pierre-Jules Cavelier, F. Barbedienne Foundry
Located in Shippensburg, PA
PIERRE JULES CAVELIER (FRENCH, 1814-94) BRONZE SCULPTURE OF A SLEEPING WOMAN
"Penelope", cast by F. Barbedienne Fondeurs, sealed verso "729 J Cavelier" with A. Collas reduction seal
Item # 503DIP07
This is a precious little antique bronze sculpture by Pierre Jules Cavelier, originally exhibited at Salon in 1842 as Femme Grecque Edormie in plaster, was later exhibited in 1849 as a marble sculpture under the title of Penelope. It was cast almost exclusively by the foundry of Ferdinand Barbedienne and is the only Cavelier sculpture to appear in their 1886 catalog in five reductions after the original. This cast is La reduction no. 4, originally offered at 200 francs with a height of 25 cm. His works are quite scarce, only two sculptures being catalogued in Berman's extensive reference work (vol. III). The sculpture is a highly detailed sand cast example, expertly tooled and finished with a brown patina. The details throughout are finely chiseled, the back of the seat being impressed with a seal typical of Cavelier. Beneath the sculpture, across the bronze stretcher, are ink inscriptions of "48531" with another faded and somewhat illegible inscription; beneath the bar is an impression of "C.77E75". For the serious collector of Romantic period bronze sculptures, this is a finely detailed and well preserved acquisition.
Pierre Jules Cavelier was born in August of 1814 and studied under both P. Delaroche and David D'Angers at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts after his entry in 1831. In 1836 he won second prize at the Prix de Rome for his model of Death of Socrates and with his sculpture of Diomedes Removing the Image of the Goddes Pallas Athene...
Category
Late 19th Century French Romantic Antique Pierre-Jules Cavelier Sculptures