A pair of patinated bronze sculptures of Voltaire and Rousseau,...
Name: A pair of patinated bronze sculptures of Voltaire and Rousseau, on Sienna marble bases, H 49-51 cm
Description: A pair of patinated bronze sculptures of Voltaire and Rousseau, on Sienna marble bases, H 49-51 cm
After models by Jean Antoine Houdon (1741-1828) and Jean Claude Rosset (1706-1786)
Restauration period, 1815-1830
Voltaire holding his staff in his left hand and a scroll in his right hand, and clad in a frock coat and short curling wig, Rousseau leaning on a cane, and clad in a frogged and embroidered frock coat and long curling wig, raised on Sienna marble square bases.
Francois-Marie Arouet, known as Voltaire (1694-1778), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) are considered the two greatest writers and philosophers of the reign of Louis XV. During their lifetimes, several sculptors attempted to portray them, after their death in 1778, several pairs of statuettes were created depicting them together, both as busts and full-length.
The two sculptures presented here were created in this context. Several similar examples are known, including a pair on cylindrical plinths in onyx and gilded bronze, formerly in a European private collection (Sotheby's auction, Paris, June 14, 2006, lot 172).
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Name: A pair of patinated bronze sculptures of Voltaire and Rousseau, on Sienna marble bases, H 49-51 cm
Description: A pair of patinated bronze sculptures of Voltaire and Rousseau, on Sienna marble bases, H 49-51 cm
After models by Jean Antoine Houdon (1741-1828) and Jean Claude Rosset (1706-1786)
Restauration period, 1815-1830
Voltaire holding his staff in his left hand and a scroll in his right hand, and clad in a frock coat and short curling wig, Rousseau leaning on a cane, and clad in a frogged and embroidered frock coat and long curling wig, raised on Sienna marble square bases.
Francois-Marie Arouet, known as Voltaire (1694-1778), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) are considered the two greatest writers and philosophers of the reign of Louis XV. During their lifetimes, several sculptors attempted to portray them, after their death in 1778, several pairs of statuettes were created depicting them together, both as busts and full-length.
The two sculptures presented here were created in this context. Several similar examples are known, including a pair on cylindrical plinths in onyx and gilded bronze, formerly in a European private collection (Sotheby's auction, Paris, June 14, 2006, lot 172).
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
