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F. Barbedienne Foundry Art

French

Founded by one-time Parisian wallpaper dealer Ferdinand Barbedienne and engineer Achille Collas, one of the most revered foundries in 19th-century France began with the invention of a revolutionary 1830s-era device that could produce proportional reproductions — large or small — of sculptures. Collas’s machine, which yielded miniature likenesses of antiquities for the interiors of homes the world over, was pivotal to the success of the F. Barbedienne Foundry. The successful firm earned prestigious awards and critical acclaim and created exquisite bronze candleholders, clocks and lamps for a range of wealthy and prominent clients.

The duo first launched their company under the name Société Collas et Barbedienne, and early on, they optimized chemical processes for pigmenting and patinating their bronze statuettes. After Collas died in 1859, Barbedienne forged on alone, and the company’s name changed to simply F. Barbedienne.

Barbedienne employed more than 300 workers at that point, and the Maison created a range of furnishings and decorative objects that featured the integration of marble and ormolu accents. However, with the onset of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the foundry was forced to retrofit its molds, and the production of cannons replaced sculptures, furniture and vases.

When Ferdinand Barbedienne passed away in 1891, his nephew and heir, Gustave Leblanc, took over as president, changing the name to Leblanc-Barbedienne. Leblanc expanded production into Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, carrying on the company's legacy with monumental sculptures, and models and securing production rights for famous statues. Paul-Alexandre Dumas, an Art Nouveau maker and student of Louis Majorelle, succeeded Leblanc until the company's closing in 1952.

Barbedienne pieces had been exhibited regularly in the 19th century and were especially prevalent at Europe’s international expositions and world’s fairs, where they received numerous awards. Today, the Musée d’Orsay in Paris holds dozens of Barbedienne works in its collection, including intricate mirrors, vases and cups created by Louis-Constant Sévin at the foundry. For more than two decades, Sévin created lamps, boxes and more at Maison Barbedienne. Working alongside award-winning chaser Désiré Attarge, Sévin designed Napoleon III-era works that greatly appealed to European nobility.

Other notable artists who collaborated with Barbedienne included Eugene Aizelin, Emmanuel Fremiet, Antonin Mercié, Emile Guillemin, Edouard Lievre, Ferdinand Levillain and Auguste Rodin.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of Barbedienne decorative objects, lighting and collectibles.

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Artist: F. Barbedienne Foundry
Large Grand Tour Bronze Greco-Roman Uffizi Wrestlers Ferdinand Barbedienne
By F. Barbedienne Foundry
Located in Rochester, NY
Grand tour circa 1860s bronze of the Wrestlers. Rich fine dark brown patina. Marked "F. Barbedienne Fondeur." The Wrestlers also known as The Two Wrestlers, The Uffizi Wrestlers...
Category

Mid-19th Century F. Barbedienne Foundry Art

Materials

Metal, Bronze

A Monumental French Patinated Bronze Bust of William Shakespeare, after Houdon
By F. Barbedienne Foundry
Located in New York, NY
A Monumental French Patinated Bronze Bust of William Shakespeare, after Houdon, by F. Barbedienne Foundry, circa 1870. Masterfully and realistically sculpted in solid bronze, this b...
Category

19th Century F. Barbedienne Foundry Art

Materials

Bronze

Crouching Venus Grand Tour Bronze Patinated Sculpture F. Barbedienne Fondeur
By F. Barbedienne Foundry
Located in Rochester, NY
Grand tour bronze sculpture of the "Crouching Venus" after the antique. Fine patina. 19th century. Ferdinand Barbedienne (French, 1821-1902).
Category

19th Century F. Barbedienne Foundry Art

Materials

Bronze

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This splendid sculpture represents Young Girl with a Goat (Amalthea and Jupiter's Goat), after the original by Pierre Julien commissioned by Louis XVI in 1785 and completed in 1787 for the cot of Queen Marie-Antoinette in Rambouillet. The work of the sculptor Pierre Julien decorated the interior of a grotto in a pavilion decorated with bas-reliefs by the same sculptor (acquired by the State by dation in 2003). The work was the main element of a rock basin, which was destroyed during the renovation of the gardens of the small castle. The same sculpture was seized during the Revolution and exhibited in the Louvre from 1829. The terracotta sketch, which belonged to the collector Ernst May, must have adorned his château de la Couharde (Yvelines) before entering the Louvre's collections in 1920. The bronze set with a beautiful gilded patina presented here is a work after the original by Pierre Julien (1731-1804) and dates from the 19th century (around 1850). The superbly preserved sculpture, which has belonged to the same family since its acquisition, is presented on its original base in grey serpentine marble. The quality of this work is doubly certified: - on the one hand it is stamped with a round stamp at the top "A. This stamp is a sign of high quality. Achille Collas (1794 - 1859) was the French engineer, engraver and illustrator, inventor among other things of the patented mathematical reduction process of the 19th century to reproduce sculpted objects in reduction, which was very successful. He was awarded a prize at the 1855 exhibition: his "Procédé mécanique", the name under which he prints all his productions, is easily recognisable by the finesse of its execution and by the famous stamp which appears on the base (terrace) of this sculpture. - On the other hand, an important signature is found on the terrace of the sculpture "F. Barbedienne Fondeur", founder. In 1844, Achille Collas, in order to protect his invention, formed the Société Collas et Barbedienne (Paris) with the art founder Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-1892), which began to produce and sell famous but smaller sculptures in plaster, wood, bronze or ivory. The first object to be marketed was the Venus de Milo after the original in the Louvre Museum. Other sculptures such as the sculpture of George Washington, of which a bronze bust was made by the Barbedienne & Process Collas foundry, are currently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. HEIGHT OF THE SCULPTURE without base 69CM + BASE = 84CM WIDTH OF THE SCULPTURE without base 28 CM + BASE = 30,5 CM LENGTH OF THE SCULPTURE without base 46 CM + BASE 51 CM The Collas and Barbedienne company was highlighted at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, the objects of the Barbedienne foundry received a medal and sales soared. 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Large and Rare Patinated Bronze Bust of George Washington, by F. Barbedienne
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Located in New York, NY
A Large and Rare Patinated Bronze Bust of George Washington, after Houdon by F. Barbedienne Foundry, circa 1870. Very nice quality green patinated bronze bust of President...
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19th Century F. Barbedienne Foundry Art

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Jean-Baptiste Auguste Clesinger, French Bronze Bust of Jesus Christ, Barbedienne
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An exceptional French patinated realistic miniature bronze bust of Jesus Christ, 1858 Signed: J CLESINGER. 1858 and F. BARBEDIENNE FONDEUR, with...
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19th Century F. Barbedienne Foundry Art

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Bronze

Jean-Baptiste Auguste Clesinger, French Bronze Bust of Jesus Christ, Barbedienne
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Located in New York, NY
A French Miniature patinated bronze bust of Jesus Christ on a round wood base, 1858. Signed: J CLESINGER. Rome. 1858 with F. BARBEDIENNE FONDEU...
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1850s F. Barbedienne Foundry Art

Materials

Bronze

Jean-Baptiste Auguste Clesinger, French Bronze Bust of Jesus Christ, Barbedienne
By F. Barbedienne Foundry
Located in New York, NY
An exceptional French patinated realistic bronze bust of Jesus Christ, 1858. Signed: J CLESINGER. Rome. 1858 with F. BARBEDIENNE FONDEUR, with the Red...
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1850s F. Barbedienne Foundry Art

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An Extremley Rare Silvered Metal Bust of George Washington by F. Barbedienne
By F. Barbedienne Foundry
Located in New York, NY
An Extremely Rare French Silvered Metal Bust of George Washington by Ferdinand Barbedienne Fondeur, Paris, circa 1880. Signed. F. Barbe...
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F. Barbedienne Foundry art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic F. Barbedienne Foundry art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by F. Barbedienne Foundry in bronze, metal and more. Not every interior allows for large F. Barbedienne Foundry art, so small editions measuring 14 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Walter Peter Brenner, Bela Bacsi, and Emmanuel Villanis. F. Barbedienne Foundry art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $10,900 and tops out at $26,250, while the average work can sell for $25,000.

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