Louis Simon BOIZOT (1743-1809), model by Pierre-Philippe THO - Lot 325

Lot n° 325
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20000 - 30000 EUR
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Résultat : 24 700EUR
Louis Simon BOIZOT (1743-1809), model by Pierre-Philippe THO - Lot 325
Louis Simon BOIZOT (1743-1809), model by Pierre-Philippe THOMIRE (1751-1843), probably cast Napoleon I victorious Model created circa 1806, cast circa 1809-1810 Statuette in bronze with brown patina; the globe in gilded bronze H. 76 cm on a circular antique green marble base H.4 cm Presumably a scepter in his left hand and a sword hanging from the shoulder strap at waist level (traces of attachment visible), both originals missing, gilt bronze medal and shoulder strap brought back Provenance - Sotheby's sale, December 2, 2003 - Collection of Countess and Count Charles André Colonna Walewski, Geneva. Exhibition: Albertina Museum, Vienna, the exhibition "Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen - Life between Dürer and Napoleon", March 14 to June 29, 2014 . Related works: - Model by Louis Simon Boizot, later modified and cast by Pierre Philippe Thomire, Allégorie de la victoire du Maréchal de Villars à Denain, 1806-1809/1810 and modified in 1818, bronze, signed, H. 88.9 cm, New York Metropolitan Museum, n°inv. 1978.55 ; - Antoine Chaudet, Napoléon victorieux, statue, 1808-1810, (unmounted in 1814 and lost in 1823) known from an engraving by Duplessis-Bertaux after Zix (ill.115 p.154 in Gérard Hubert's book). Related literature: - J. Niclausse, Thomire, fondeur-ciseleur (1751-1843), sa vie - son œuvre, Paris, 1947 ; - J. D. Draper, The Fortunes of Two Napoleonic Sculptural Projects, in The Metropolitan Museum Journal, 14, 1980, pp. 173-180; - G. Hubert, G. Ledoux-Lebard, Napoléon. Portraits contemporains, bustes et statues, Paris, 1999, pp. 136-139 and pp.156-159; - Louis Simon Boizot (1743-1809) king's sculptor and director of the sculpture workshop at the Manufacture de Sèvres, Versailles, Musée Lambinet, 2001, pp.165-166 This important bronze statuette of exceptional quality depicts Emperor Napoleon standing, crowned with a laurel wreath, wearing an antique-style tunic tightened at the waist and a long coat draped over the shoulder, his torso encircled by a headband adorned with his imperial insignia and his right arm extended in a gesture of authority. This statue of Napoleon triumphant is currently the only surviving work bearing witness to the initial group designed by Boizot in 1806, cast by Thomire around 1809-1810, but transformed in 1818 by the founder into the figure of Marshal de Villars in Denain. This group is known and described in the jury's report on the decennial prizes for 1810: "M Boizot que la mort vient d'enlever aux arts a laissé des ouvrages qui ont mérité l'attention du Jury....on connaît encore de cet artiste un groupe allégorique en l'honneur de l'Empereur qui y est représenté élevé sur un tertre, ayant ses pieds des drapeaux conquis sur l'ennemi à la Bataille d'Austerlitz. This bronze group is both noble and graceful in style, with a precious rendering". J. D. Draper's 1980 identification of a work in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (inv. 1978.55) as Napoleon's Allegory of Victory at Austerlitz, transformed, establishes a direct link with our bronze. This fundamental discovery for the understanding of the work reveals that the original group exhibited at the Salon of 1806 under the title "S.M. l'Empereur, tenant d'une main la Victoire et appuyé sur Minerve, derrière est la Renommée publiant ses conquêtes", was modified by Thomire in 1818 to represent Marshal de Villars. The striking stylistic similarities between the two bronze works confirm their common origin. The identical attitude of the main figure, with outstretched right arm, the almost identical clothing treatment of the tunic tightened at the waist by a belt decorated with laurel branches and stars with the same fold movements, and the similarity of the Roman sandals are undeniable elements of rapprochement. The genesis of this sculpture was part of an artistic program to celebrate Napoleon's victories during the First Empire, particularly that of Austerlitz. [ATTENTION description truncated by Drouot - Full details to be found in the catalog]. Temporary import The buyer will be required to pay import duties, i.e. 5.5% in addition to the hammer price, unless the item is immediately re-exported outside the European Union. Work in temporary import The buyer will have to pay import fees of 5.5% in addition to the hammer price, unless the buyer immediately re-exports the lot outside the European Union.
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