GALLERY
Jean-Auguste BARRE (1811-1896)
€ 1800
Jean-Auguste BARRE (1811-1896)
Portrait of Princess Marie d'Orléans (1813-1839)
€ 1800
Object N° 883

Hard porcelain biscuit.

Around 1837-1839.

Without apparent mark.

Good condition.

H. 20.5 x L. 9.5 x D. 9 cm.

Exhibition

Louis-Philippe at Fontainebleau, the King and History, Fontainebleau Castle, 3 November 2018-4 February 2019, cat. 10, pp. 35-36 (illustrated).

History

Although unsigned, the posture, the treatment of the face and that of the dress leave little doubt as to the author of this model, representing the most artistic daughter of King Louis-Philippe. A pupil of Ary Scheffer, Princess Marie was indeed the first French Romantic woman sculptor until her untimely death. Barre chose to depict her as a tribute, holding a chisel in her right hand and a book in her left.

We know of a larger version (H. 26.5 cm) in biscuit, still from an unknown manufacturer (SVV Collin du Bocage, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 8 June 2016, n° 68), as well as a rarer version in bronze, of the same size (SVV Gros & Delettrez, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 20 June 2018, n° 269).

Barre was the principal sculptor of the royal family and aristocracy under the July Monarchy. In addition to having created the famous Wedgwood-style Sèvres biscuit medallions, depicting the profiles of each member of Louis-Philippe's family, he also created statuettes whose subjects are still little known, hence the rarity of our copy. A pair of cast iron models, attributed to Barre, representing Ferdinand-Philippe d'Orléans and his wife the Duchess of Orléans, whose posture is very close, are known (SVV Coutau-Bégarie, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 28 May 2010, No. 157). The Girodet de Montargis Museum preserves a model comparable to ours in bronze representing the Duchess of Fitz James (1839), as well as another version of Duke Ferdinand-Philippe d'Orléans (1842), also in bronze.