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ALBERT CARRIER-BELLEUSE (FRENCH, 1824-1887) BRONZE SCULPTURE OF SEATED REMBRANDT
Signed "A. Carrier" on naturalistic base
Item # 503MSP28P
This large and incredibly striking work by Albert Carrier-Belleuse captures a seated Rembrandt clutching his portfolio of paintings with a cluster of brushes and his palette resting against the tree stump he is resting on. Like all of his work, the sculpture is nearly photographic in it's rendering of Rembrandt, the skin and surfaces throughout perfectly formed. The sculpture rests over an integral rimmed footing, the entire work an imposing 25 1/2" high and an absolute strike point for whatever room it becomes a part of.
ALBERT ERNEST CARRIER-BELLEUSE:
Albert Ernest Carrier-Belleuse apprenticed as an engraver at age thirteen beside the goldsmith Fauconnier in Paris, later being accepted into the Ecole des Beaux-Arts based on the endorsement of David d'Angers in 1840. His training became evident in his later work with bronzes, the minute and exceptional attention to small details required as a goldsmith eventually would give depth and life to his romantic sculptures. Exhibiting a keen interest in porcelain, he was eventually named the director of Works of Art at the Sevres porcelain factory in Paris in 1875, many of his works being then interpreted into painted scenes manufactured by the firm. Some of the most treasured works by Carrier-Belleuse is the extensive quantity of busts he produced, these capturing famous and less-than-famous artists, poets, musicians, writers, politicians, financiers and merchants of the time. Nicknamed the "Clodion of the 19th Century" both by his contemporaries and by Napoleon III, his romantic treasures were highly regarded and resulted in him being commissioned for many public monuments during the Second Empire. His work is prominently listed and catalogued in most major works on bronze sculptors of the period.
Measurements: 25 1/2" H, base diameter 11 3/8"
Condition Report:
Dent in edge of base, abrasions to thigh and edge of garment, abrasion to sleeve on arm rested on other thigh, dusty in some crevices, other minor patina wear throughout. Please review images in the slideshow for a full overview of condition.
