M.S. Rau Figurative Sculptures
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Tigre saissant un paon by Antoine-Louis Barye
By Antoine-Louis Barye
Located in New Orleans, LA
Antoine-Louis Barye
1795-1875 French
Tigre saissant un paon
(Tiger seizing a peacock)
Bronze
Signed “BARYE”
Modeled by famed French Romantic sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye, this r...
Category
19th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Pair of Bronze Busts of Queen Mary by William Henry Tyler
Located in New Orleans, LA
Pair of Bronze Busts of Queen Mary when Duchess of York
William Henry Tyler
Dated 1893
These rare and highly important bronze busts of the future Queen Mary, created in 1893 by the ...
Category
19th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Panther and Hare Bronze Sculpture
Located in New Orleans, LA
This 17th-century bronze sculpture, likely hailing from southern Germany, depicts a scene of life-and-death struggle in nature — a hapless hare caught in the claws of a mighty panthe...
Category
17th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Churchill Bronze Bust by Vivien Mallock
Located in New Orleans, LA
Vivien Mallock
b.1945 British
Sir Winston Churchill
Signed “VM” and numbered "9/12"
Bronze with a brown patina
Winston Churchill stands as one of th...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Sigmund Freud by Oscar Nemon
Located in New Orleans, LA
Oscar Nemon
1906 - 1985 Croatian
Sigmund Freud
Signed “Nemon”
Bronze resin
This original bronze Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, was crafted by renowned Croatian scul...
Category
20th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Young Emperor Augustus by Augustus Saint-Gaudens
By Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Located in New Orleans, LA
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
1848-1907 American
Young Emperor Augustus
Marble
This extraordinary marble bust by revered American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens is crafted in the class...
Category
19th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble
Panther by Émile Louis Bracquemond
Located in New Orleans, LA
Émile Louis Bracquemond
1889-1970 French
Panther
Bronze
This exquisite bronze sculpture of a panther was created by French sculptor Émile Louis Bracquemond. The artist was clearl...
Category
20th Century Art Deco Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Nessus and Deianira Bronze
By Giambologna
Located in New Orleans, LA
A technical and creative masterpiece of the late Renaissance era, this extraordinary bronze figure depicts the famed Greek legend of The Abduction of Deianira. Bringing together the ...
Category
17th Century Renaissance Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Patinated Bronze Statuette of William Shakespeare
By Frederick William MacMonnies
Located in New Orleans, LA
Frederick William MacMonnies
1863–1937 American
William Shakespeare
Signed "F. MacMonnies" and foundry-marked "E. Gruet Jeune, Fondeur, Paris"
Bronze
Frederick William MacMonnies...
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Hercules and the Centaur Nessus Bronze
Located in New Orleans, LA
This extraordinary Italian bronze embodies all of the hallmarks of the very best Florentine sculptures of the 17th century. The work is crafted in the Mannerist style of the late Ren...
Category
17th Century Mannerist Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Terracotta Statue of Emperor Napoleon at St. Helena
Located in New Orleans, LA
Terracotta Statue of Emperor Napoleon at St. Helena
Circa 1825-1840
This exceptional terracotta statue of Napoleon Bonaparte on St. Helena stands as one of the earliest known depict...
Category
19th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Terracotta
Young St. John the Baptist by Domenico Menconi
Located in New Orleans, LA
Masterfully carved with remarkable detail, a youthful Saint John the Baptist folds his hands in prayer in this stunning marble by the important Italian sculptor Domenico Menconi. The...
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble
Flemish Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra Bronze
Located in New Orleans, LA
This remarkable early 17th-century Flemish bronze of Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra exudes classic Baroque grandeur and beauty. Flanders was one of the richest artistic and cultural...
Category
Early 17th Century Baroque Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Pair of Carrara Marble Busts of the Emperor Napoleon and Empress Marie Louise
Located in New Orleans, LA
"I am a true Roman Emperor; I am of the best race of the Caesars—those who are founders." –Napoleon Bonaparte, 1812
Among the most iconic and celebrated figures in history, Napoleon...
Category
19th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble
Sir Winston Churchill Bronze by Ivor Roberts-Jones
By Ivor Roberts-Jones
Located in New Orleans, LA
Ivor Roberts-Jones
1916-1996 British
Sir Winston Churchill
Numbered “132” (on base)
Bronze with a brown patina on a stone base
“My dear friends, this is your hour.” These were Wi...
Category
20th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Italian Marble Sculpture Of Venus And Cupid
Located in New Orleans, LA
Beautifully detailed and lifelike, Venus and Cupid share a soft embrace in this remarkable Italian white marble sculpture. The feminine beauty gracefully leans against roughened rock...
Category
19th Century Nude Sculptures
Materials
Marble
Sir Winston Churchill Memorial By Ivor Roberts-Jones
By Ivor Roberts-Jones
Located in New Orleans, LA
Ivor Roberts-Jones
1916-1996 British
Sir Winston Churchill Memorial
Bronze
This exceptional and iconic sculpture of Sir Winston Churchill is the original maquette for the renowne...
Category
20th Century Academic Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Limestone Buddha Head, 6th-Century Qi Dynasty
Located in New Orleans, LA
This limestone bust of the Buddha presents a picture of serenity and grace. A rare and striking image, it was sculpted in 6th-century Northern China during the Qi dynasty...
Category
15th Century and Earlier Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Limestone
Married Love by Oscar Nemon
Located in New Orleans, LA
Oscar Nemon
1906 - 1985 Croatian
Married Love
Signed “Nemon” (on reverse)
Bronze resin with green patina
This rousing and sentimental sculpture, commis...
Category
20th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Clio by Studio of Romanelli
Located in New Orleans, LA
Studio of Raffaello Romanelli
Early 20th Century Italian
Clio
Inscribed "Executé sous la Direction du Prof. Romanelli" (on base)
Marble
Clio, the muse of history from Greek mytho...
Category
Early 20th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble
Bronze of Pluto Abducting Proserpine after François Girardon
Located in New Orleans, LA
After François Girardon
1628-1715 French
Pluto Abducting Proserpine
Bronze
This High Baroque period composition captures the famed narrative of Pluto and Proserpine from Roman mythology. The late 17th-century patinated bronze, created after François Girardon's marble composition, captures the very moment that Pluto seizes Proserpine. The anguished goddess reaches skyward, attempting to escape the god’s grasp while Pluto’s stoic face betrays his knowledge that his ploy will succeed. This pivotal moment in the mythological tale has captured the imagination of many art historical greats, from Bernini to Rubens. François Girardon’s version of the climax demonstrates incredible finesse and artistry, modeled expertly in bronze in the present work by a later sculptor. The statue brings a twist of intertwined bodies into a dynamic frenzy, paralleling the tension of the legendary story.
In ancient Roman mythology, Proserpine, the beautiful daughter of Ceres — known as Persephone in Greek mythology — was picking flowers in the fields when she was suddenly abducted by Pluto, the god of the underworld, and taken to his kingdom. Consumed with grief, her mother Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, scorches the earth, stopping the growth of grain and fruit. Jupiter attempts to intervene and secure Proserpine’s return to earth, negotiating a compromise with Pluto and the Fates that allows Proserpine to be released for part of the year before returning to Pluto’s underworld. Proserpine’s journey back and forth is an allegory for the changing seasons; when Prosperine is with her mother, the earth warms and provides bountiful harvests. Upon her annual return to the underworld, however, the earth once again becomes cold and barren.
After returning to France after years of training in Rome, François Girardon quickly rose to become one of the greatest artists in France. He was elected a member of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in 1657 and would become Chancellor of the Royal Academy in 1695. The artist was approached frequently for royal commissions and Girardon’s Pluto was originally commissioned by Louis XIV for the gardens at his Palace of Versailles. It was one of four monumental marble groups intended to decorate the corners of Charles Le Brun’s never completed garden at the chateau, the Parterre d’Eau. Each group of three figures symbolized one of the four elements: earth, air, fire and water. Pluto’s association with hell made him the apt...
Category
Early 18th Century Baroque Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Masquerade
By Fortunato Galli
Located in New Orleans, LA
Masquerade, a traditional yet playful composition by Fortunato Galli, reflects the realism and intricacy that defined Italian sculpture at the end of the 19th century. Magnificently ...
Category
19th Century Other Art Style Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble
Perseus
Located in New Orleans, LA
The legendary Greek god Perseus is the subject of this elegant half-bust by Ubaldo Gandolfi, a major painter and sculptor from Bologna. The son of Zeus and Danaë, Perseus was the le...
Category
Mid-18th Century Other Art Style Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Terracotta
Bust of Pope Innocent XI Odescalchi by Domenico Guidi
Located in New Orleans, LA
This monumental bust is a museum-quality example of Roman Baroque sculpture. Crafted by the legendary Domenico Guidi and carved from Carrara marble, the impressive portrait captures the visage of Pope Innocent XI, Benedetto Odescalchi (1611-1689). It presents a larger-than-life example of Guidi’s remarkable skill as a sculptor, which ultimately made his workshop one of the most important in Rome during his age. Today, his works are rarely found on the market, particularly his extraordinary works in marble.
Pope Innocent XI was born Benedetto Odescalchi into an Italian noble family of prominent bankers. Spending his early years in banking, he eventually turned to the law, earning his doctorate in 1639. His background would serve him well in his service to the papacy, and he became known as a frugal and devout member of the Church. In 1676, he was unanimously elected Pop after the death of Clement X. During his nearly 13-year reign, he instilled his own personal ideals of austerity and frugality onto the Church, with a deep commitment to reform and piety.
He is captured here by Guidi in his traditional Pope’s mozzetta and camauro cap. A wide stole is draped over his shoulders, ornamented by acanthus leaves and the coat of arms of the Odescalchi family. It displays Guidi’s mastery over the chiaroscuro effect, particularly in the high level of contrast in his cheeks and his eyes, which Guidi achieved through various methods of high polish.
A very similar portrait sculpture of Pope Innocent XI by Guidi can be found in the collection of the Royal Castle in Warsaw. The Warsaw bust belongs to a series of portraits of popes which the Odescalchi family commissioned from Domenico Guidi in the 1690s. Compared to that example, the present bust is far more dramatic, with deeper cut lines and a more precise expression. It is likely that the present piece was seen by the Odescalchi family, who ordered a similar one to be made. The piece was almost certainly intended to be displayed in a niche, given its dramatic cutting and its roughly carved back.
Others of Guidi’s busts can be found in important collections throughout Italy, England and the United States, though many of these are lesser bronze repetitions. A bronze bust of the Pope Alexander VIII by Guidi is currently in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum (London), while a terracotta version of the same is in the Los Angeles County Museum. A bronze of Pope Alexander VIII can be found in the Princely Collection of Lichtenstein, and his impressive marble papal bust of Clement IX graces the pope’s tomb in Santa Maria Maggiore. The present bust of Pope...
Category
17th Century Baroque Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble
Girardon’s Equestrian Portrait of Louis XIV
Located in New Orleans, LA
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...
Category
19th Century Other Art Style Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
THE LAST DAYS OF NAPOLÉON BY
Located in New Orleans, LA
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...
Category
19th Century Realist Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Related Items
Eighteenth-century Grand Tour marble bust of Faustina the Younger
Located in London, GB
Signed and dated: ‘F. Harwood Fecit 1764’
Collections:
Probably commissioned by Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon (1743-1827);
Probably by descent at Gordon Castle, Banffshire to c.1948;
Possibly acquired by Bert Crowther of Syon Lodge, Middlesex;
Jacques Hollander (1940-2004);
Christie’s, 5 December 2013, lot 101;
Private collection;
Sotheby’s, 2 July 2019, lot 106
Literature:
John Preston Neale, Views of the seats of noblemen and gentlemen, in England, Wales and Scotland, London, 1822, vol.I, unpaginated.
This marble copy of an ancient bust in the Musei Capitolini usually identified as Faustina the Younger, the daughter of Antoninus Pius and future wife of Marcus Aurelius, was made in Florence by Francis Harwood in 1764. Harwood was one of the most prolific suppliers of decorative marbles for the Grand Tour market and this finely worked example demonstrates the quality of luxury goods available to travellers to Italy. So often anonymous, this unusually signed and dated example, raises questions about the status of marble copies in the period and of sculptors such as Harwood who are known principally for ornamental work.
Harwood’s origins remain obscure. He is documented living in Palazzo Zuccari with Joshua Reynolds and the Irish sculptor Simon Vierpyl at Easter 1752, he had certainly settled permanently in Florence by the following year, when he is recorded working with Joseph Wilton. He was admitted to the Florentine Academy on 12 January 1755 (as pittore Inglese, although he was described as scultore in the matriculation account). After Wilson returned to England in 1755 Harwood appears to have worked in a studio near SS. Annunziata with Giovanni Battista Piamontini who had made life-size copies of The Wrestlers and The Listening Slave for Joseph Leeson in 1754. In 1758 both sculptors were contracted to make a statue and a trophy to complete the decoration of the Porta San Gallo, Harwood completing a statue of Equality, installed the following year.
By 1760 Harwood was on the brink of his most productive period as a sculptor, producing copies of celebrated antiquities for the ever-increasing audience of Grand Tour travellers and for the domestic market in London. In 1761 Harwood met the young architect James Adam who was in Italy specifically to make contact with suppliers for Robert Adam’s burgeoning practice back in Britain. The Adams offered a remarkably cohesive design package to their clients, encompassing not just architecture, but fixtures, fittings and furniture as well. Harwood was able to supply the brothers with marbles for their new interiors. At Syon, for example, Harwood produced a full-size copy of Michelangelo’s Bacchus for the new dining room the Adams had designed for Hugh Smythson, 1st Duke of Northumberland.
Harwood seems to have also specialised in producing sets of library busts. In 1758 Charles Compton, 7th Earl of Northampton, a distinguished traveller commissioned a set of busts which remain in situ at Castle Ashby in Northamptonshire. It is perhaps no coincidence that the Adam brothers were producing designs for new interiors at Castle Ashby at this date. The set included representations of: Cicero, Julius Caesar, Marcus Aurelius, Faustina the Younger, Sappho, Seneca and Homer. Each of these busts Harwood seems to have replicated for multiple patrons, another Adam patron, Thomas Dundas...
Category
18th Century Old Masters Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble
Kneeling Female Nude, Bronze By Mario Korbel
Located in Norwood, NJ
Joseph Mario Korbel (Czech/American, 1882-1954). Period fine example bronze, dark brown patina, modeled as a nude female kneeling and tying her sandal, raised on a stepped black marb...
Category
Early 20th Century Art Deco Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Georgian Contemporary Sculpture by Irakli Tsuladze - Square of Love
By Irakli Tsuladze
Located in Paris, IDF
Bronze, glass & marble
Irakli Tsuladze is a Georgian sculptor born in 1973 who lives and works in Tbilisi, Georgia. His sculptures present a peculiar unity of substance and emotions...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
H 21.66 in W 22.05 in D 7.09 in
Untitled Nude Figurative Sculpture
Located in San Diego, CA
Reclining nude bronze on black marble sculpture by sculptor Laura Smith. The contrast of the bronze patina on marble makes the figure appear as if floating. There is some discolorati...
Category
20th Century Other Art Style Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Bronze Bust of a Gentleman by Nison Tregor
Located in Brookville, NY
Nison Tregor
Born in Lithuania of Polish parents, Nison Tregor studied sculpture at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. After immigrating to the United State...
Category
1940s American Realist Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Fabulous Italian Neoclassical Marble Sculpture of Hermes
Located in Rome, IT
19th century French finely chiseled bronze figure of Hermes .
Signed Pigalle G . Cuspinera
Hermes , the messenger of the gods, is sitting on a rock, ready to leap up. He is att...
Category
19th Century Academic Nude Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
The Rape of Sabine Iconic Bronze Sculpture 1930
Located in Rome, IT
Fine Group of Sculptures in Bronze after Jean de Boulogne (Giambologna)
The torturously twisting Rape of the Sabine Women is one of the finest and most technically difficult sculpt...
Category
1920s Mannerist Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Large Gilt Bronze Sculptures of Cheetahs
Located in Rome, IT
Fantastic pair of gilt bronze Cheetahs sculptures . The item will be well-suited to either an indoor or outdoor setting.
Category
Early 2000s Modern Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
A pair of ducks by Carl August Brasch.
Located in Gent, VOV
A very finely detailed and stylized bronze sculpture of a pair of ducks on a marble plinth. Signed C. Brasch. In terms of approach and style, this work is modern and somewhat reminis...
Category
20th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
The Swimmer
By Pietro Barzanti
Located in Costa Mesa, CA
This very finely carved statue is of a swimmer just leaning over to dive into an unseen pool. Signed P. Barzanti, Florence for Pietro Barzanti (1825-1895) of Florence, Italy. Barzani was a well known sculptor known for classical works in marble which is reflected in this figure's very delicate facial features and the skill shown in the carving of her hair and the cloth of her bathing costume...
Category
1870s Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble
ANCIENT ROMAN BRONZE SCULPTURE FIGURE OF A ROMPING DOG
Located in Milan, IT
"Roman Bronze Figure Of A Romping Dog"
Roman Empire, circa 1st Century B.C.- 1st Century A.D.
Bronze
width 7 cm
width 2 3/4 in
Provenance:
Leo Mildenberg (1913-2001) Private Collection, Zurich, prior to 1986
American Private Collection, acquired in 1991
Literature:
A.P. Kozloff, et al., More Animals in Ancient Art...
Category
15th Century and Earlier Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Large Romanesque Cistercian marble capital. Northern Italy.
Located in PARIS, FR
Large romanesque capital with water leaf in red Verona marble. This type of capital is typical of 12th century Cistercian abbeys and represents a tr...
Category
15th Century and Earlier Medieval Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble
