catalog text
PIERRE EUGENE EMILE HEBERT
French, 1828-1893
"Thetis - Olympian"
Patinated and parcel gilt bronze | signed in cast "E. HEBERT", cold-stamped verso "G [scarab] S / MEDAILLE D'OR 1867" verso | cast circa 1910
Item # 301THW19P
A very nice cabinet bronze depicting the Greek goddess Thetis, the sculpture is cast by the bronze fondeur Georges Emile Henri Servant after the model by Pierre Emile Hébert. The sculptor and founder collaborated on several works in the Egyptian Revival and Neo-Greco taste, including Hébert’s well known sculpture of Rameses and Isis; they produced several figural clocks together as well as stand alone sculptures. The present example depicts Thetis in a traditional himation with her foot raised over a helmet while she tightens the straps on her armor; beside her is a large shield decorated with raised-relief figures of war as she leans against a large anvil.
As winner of the gold medallion of 1867, Georges Servant was highly regarded as an exceptional talent and the present example of his work shows a great deal of pride and attention to detail - crisp chiseling of the figure with sharp eyelids and fingernails, precise signatures and beautiful flowing garment.
Georges Servant exhibited extensively, including at the 1855 Paris Exhibition and the 1862 and 1867 London Exhibitions where he won the gold medallion referenced in the markings of his work.
PIERRE EUGÉNE EMILE HEBERT
Pierre-Eugéne-Emile Hebert was born in Paris in 1828 and studied under his father, a well regarded sculptor Pierre Hebert, and under Jean-Jacques Feuchére. At the age of 18 he debuted at Salon, where he continued to exhibit almost every year continuously until his death in 1893, also completing some commissioned public works. He is particularly known for Comedy and Drama, stone groups at the Théatre du Vaudeville and his group The Oracle (now at the museum in Vienna). His works are held in museums and institutions throughout the United States and Great Britain.
In its summary of Hébert, the National Gallery of Art notes that “Hébert often adjusted his style to historical subject: severe neo-Greek handling in his Thetis, Oracle, and Oedipus and the Sphinx; and stylized and rigid neo-Egyptian handling in his busts of Rameses and Isis. Some of his most intriguing work is in this historicizing mode, which provides especially useful insights into nineteenth-century French Orientalism.”
His works are held in museums and institutions throughout the United States and Great Britain.
Artist Listings & Bibliography:
- Bronzes: Sculptors and Founders 1800-1930, Vol. IV, Berman, p. 1059, f. 4186 - present figure noted as “Thetis - Olympian” at 14 1/2” H and cast by Georges Servant
- "E. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Vol VI", Gründ, p. 1290
- "Bronzes of the Nineteenth Century, Dictionary of Artists", Kjellberg, p. 376
- “The Romantics to Rodin, French Nineteenth Century Sculpture”, Fusco & Janson, 1980, p. 294-95
- “Dictionnaire des Sculpteurs de l’Ecole Francaise”, Lami, 1914-21, p. 91-93
Measurements: 11 5/8" H x 3 3/4" D x 5" W
Condition Report: Restoration to patina evident with trace remnants of verdigris oxidization in folds of garment; two bronze posts tapped through the base at some point during the 20th century to allow the sculpture to be mounted to marble with circular visibility on the base where they come through; also during the 20th century some kind of white paint/material was applied to the underside; sculpture was likely situated on top of a clock at one point, as this is most often the arrangement for this model. Cleaned, carefully waxed and polished, a fine presentation.