19th Century French Bronze Sculpture of a the Seated Poet Sappho by J. Pradier

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19th Century French Bronze Sculpture of a the Seated Poet Sappho by J. Pradier

About the Item

A beautiful French patinated bronze sculpture of a study of the seated poet Sappho, signed J. Pradier, with Suisse Freres foundry mark, circa 1830 in date. The sculpture portrays the classically dressed poet Sappho seated on a stool with a lyre, deep in thought and it is mounted on a variegated rouge marble plinth base with gilt bronze bun feet. The attention to detail throughout this piece is second to none and this high-quality bronze was made from the lost wax process 'cire perdue'. Condition: In excellent condition. As an antique item its show minor signs of use commensurate with age, these minor condition issues are mentioned for accuracy and, as seen in the accompanying photographs, the bronze displays beautifully. Dimensions in cm: Height 25 x width 32 x depth 20 Dimensions in inches: Height 9.8 x width 12.6 x depth 7.9 Born in Geneva, Pradier was the son of a Protestant family from Toulouse. He left for Paris in 1807 to work with his elder brother, Charles-Simon Pradier, an engraver, and also attended the École des Beaux-Arts beginning in 1808. He won a Prix de Rome that enabled him to study in Rome from 1814 to 1818 at the Villa Médicts. Pradier made his debut at the Salon in 1819 and quickly acquired a reputation as a competent artist. He studied under Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres in Paris. In 1827 he became a member of the Académie des beaux-arts and a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts Unlike many of his contemporaries, Pradier oversaw the finish of his sculptures himself. He was a friend of the Romantic poets Alfred de Musset, Victor Hugo, Théophile Gautier, and the young Gustave Flaubert, and his atelier was a center, presided over by his beautiful mistress, Juliette Drouet, who became Hugo's mistress in 1833. After the liaison with Drouet ended, he married Louis d'Arcot in 1833 but they would separate in 1845. The cool neoclassical surface finish of his sculptures is charged with an eroticism that their mythological themes can barely disguise. At the Salon of 1834, Pradier's Satyr and Bacchante created a scandalous sensation. Some claimed to recognize the features of the sculptor and his mistress, Juliette Drouet. When the prudish government of Louis-Philippe refused to purchase it, Count Anatole Demidoff bought it and took it to his palazzo in Florence. (It has since come back to the Louvre). Other famous sculptures by Pradier are the figures of Fame in the spandrels of the Arc de Triomphe, decorative figures at the Madeleine, and his twelve Victories inside the dome of the Invalides, all in Paris. For his native Geneva he completed the statue of the Genevan Jean-Jacques Rousseau erected in 1838 on the tiny Île Rousseau, where Lac Léman empties to form the Rhône. Aside from large-scale sculptures Pradier collaborated with François-Désiré Froment-Meurice, designing jewelry in a 'Renaissance-Romantic' style. He is buried in the Père-Lachaise cemetery. Much of the contents of his studio were bought up after his death by the city museum of Geneva.

Dimensions:
Height: 9.85 in (25 cm)Width: 12.6 in (32 cm)Depth: 7.88 in (20 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Bronze,Marble,Gilt
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
1830-1839
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1830
Condition:
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: 089701stDibs: LU950611110071