18th Century French Wax Bust Portrait of a Gentleman
$9,450.00
Our client's relief of a young gentleman with hair tied en queue is a rare example of wax portraiture on a large scale modelled in France in the late eighteenth century, mounted in its original glazed giltwood frame measuring 21 5/8 inches tall, 17 1/8 inches wide and approximately 5 inches deep.
Smaller, hand-held portraits were popular in France in the second half of the 18th century. The finest examples, such as ours, depict highly realistic images using human hair and the finest textiles.
According to Sotheby's, the most celebrated of artists in this rare medium was Philippe Curtius (Stockach 1737 – 1794 Paris), a German-born Frenchman. Curtius ran salon displays of wax figures on the Boulevard du Temple and at the Palais Royal. He is known for sculpting famous figures of the period from France and around the world, including nobility. The artist taught his techniques to Marie Grosholtz, daughter of his live-in housekeeper and the future Madame Tussaud, who popularized the medium worldwide.
Works by Curtius and others of this size and quality are extremely rare. The only work of this scale by Curtius to recently appear at major auction was a bust of Tartar gentleman, offered by Cambi Casa d'Aste in Genoa on June 13, 2018 in lot 12, which closed at 11,000 euro.
Related literature:
M. Poggesi, "The Anatomical Waxes of "La Specola," in La Specola: Anatomie in Wachs in Kontrast zu Bildern der modernen Medizin, P. Friess and S. Witzgall eds., Bonn, 2000, p.12-21;
M. Von During, M. Poggesi, G. Didi-Huberman, Encyclopaedia Anatomica, Museo La Specola Florence. Cologne, 2004
