~ 19th Century Bronze Sculpture of a Woman by Mathurin Moreau (son of Jean Baptiste Moreau) ~
This is a wonderful bronze casting of a grand size made by one of the great 19th Century artists and lauded graduates of the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris :
Mathurin Moreau was a French sculptor who worked in the traditional academic style of the 19th century. Born in Dijon, France on November 18, 1822, he was the son of noted sculptor Jean Baptiste Moreau.
In 1841, he entered the École des Beaux Arts in Paris and, the following year, won the Second Grand Prix de Rome with his sculpture Diodemus removing the Palladium.
Several of his works remain on public display in Paris, among them Cologne on the facade of the Gare du Nord train station, L’Océanie in the courtyard of the Musée d’Orsay, and Zénobe Gramme in the Père Lachaise cemetery. Mathurin also won first place at the Paris World Fair in 1855 for his Fontaine de Tourny, which is now located in Quebec.
In 1897, he received a medal of honor from the Paris Salon and was elected mayor of the 19th arrondissement of Paris, a position he held until his death on February 14, 1912.
Numbered 13/100 we believe this piece to be relatively rare. We have not been able to find another example from his extensive range (the man was prolific), aside from a similarly themed piece called “Charmeuse” which this may have served as a study to, or was simply a recurrent theme that the artist revisited.
Mathurin created figures from myth and ancient pantheons but also of simple peasantry, imbuing examples of both subjects with grace, strength, dignity and fine proportions as we can see here with the soft curved limbs of a reaper girl in gentle conference with a fledgling crow.
The piece bears his signature “Math Moreau” and sits smartly on a rounded marble plinth.
~ Dimensions ~
The bronze is 26 inches tall with a 2 inch plinth (71 cm total)
The base has a diameter of 11 inches (28 cm)
The piece weighs a hefty 42kg and so shipping estimates may well be re-calculated upon enquiry
~ Condition ~
The piece came to us from a family who had housed it for generations, it is in great shape (though we did spot on small burr on the girl’s right wrist where it meets the bushel she is holding).
There are some spatters on one or two surfaces, but these barely detract from the attractive, deep, and warm bronze patina.
The signature is clear and the plinth undamaged.
PQAA00#6247
