Lot n° 447
Estimation :
120000 - 150000
EUR
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Attributed to Jean-Baptiste II LEMOYNE (1704-1778) - Lot 447
Attributed to Jean-Baptiste II LEMOYNE (1704-1778)
Rare pair of partially gilded lead groups representing two putti supporting a shell adorned with a mascaron. They stand on a circular base decorated with rocaille ornaments such as foliage, flowers and rocks.
Louis XV period, circa 1750-1760
H. 77 cm; D. 44 cm
Sheath: H. 69 cm; D. 45 cm
(Worn gilding and minor dents to bases)
Each on a faux marble fluted column base.
Our pair of lead groups can be compared with a terracotta modelo probably made by Jean-Baptiste II Lemoyne around 1750, which is part of the Dessauer collection and featured in the 2001 Nuremberg exhibition Kleine Ekstase, Barock Meisterwerke aus der Sammlung Dessauer [Little Ecstasy, Baroque Masterpieces from the Dessauer Collection]. Measuring 23 cm high, Lemoyne's modelo features a group of two nude children carrying a shell fountain basin on a Rocaille plinth. While the boy on the left, half-clothed with a cloth on his back, grasps the shell with his hands and rests it on his left thigh, the boy on the right, crouching on the ground and seemingly in difficulty, tries to lift it. This considerable effort, which his comrade observes with a critical eye, can be seen on his face, with his mouth open and his left cheek crushed against the wall of the basin.
The sketchy appearance of the modelling, in particular the rough pieces of clay at the back, clearly characterize this terracotta as a sketch. It is most likely a model for a sculpture or fountain intended to decorate a garden or park, of which the lead groups presented here could be the finished version. The arrangement of the figures suggests an intention to place the group high up, to enhance the effect of movement.
This motif, typical of Parisian Rocaille, appears identically on a set of panels painted in 1765 by François Boucher, Jean-
Baptiste Huet and Jean-Honoré Fragonard. These panels were commissioned by Gilles Demarteau, official engraver to François
Boucher, to decorate the salon of his apartment on rue de la
Pelleterie on the Île de la Cité. On Demarteau's death, the set was dismantled and installed at 3 rue du Cloître Saint-Benoît (now rue de
Cluny) in 1777. The set of panels traveled to several private mansions, including the Hôtel de Clermont-Tonnerre at 120 rue du Bac.
Bac in 1956. Finally, they were purchased by the Musée Carnavalet, where they remain to this day.
According to research carried out by the Carnavalet museum, the representation of these boys supporting the shell is probably due to the work of Jean-Honoré Fragonard, a master in the art of depicting garden ornaments. During the same period, the painter created a series of paintings for Madame du Barry entitled
Les progrès de l'amour, now in the Frick Collection, New York.
In this cycle, Fragonard gives pride of place to garden sculptures, particularly putti.
However, the debate continues, and it is difficult to say with certainty whether Lemoyne's terracotta modelo was made after Boucher and Fragonard's panels, or whether the painter was inspired by Lemoyne's model.
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