Greek Tragedy Bronze Sculpture After Francisque Joseph Duret
$16,500.00
Or Best OfferOur client's very tall (37.5, 95 cm) patinated bronze after the French sculptor, Francisque Duret (1804-1865) is knowna s La Tragédie (Tragegy).
With a warm green-tinted brown patina and in good condition, with rubbing wear, scratches and nicks. Signed in the cast DURET.
La Tragédie and La Comédie, each originally sculpted in marble, were commissioned in 1851 by the Théâtre Français. It is the oldest continually operating theater company in the world, residing in Salle Richelieu, part of the Palais-Royal complex in Paris. Marbles of La Tragedie and La Comedie also reside in the collection of the Musée des Augustins in Toulouse.
Duret was the son of the accomplished sculptor, François-Joseph Duret (1729-1816), who died when Francisque was only twelve years old. Francisque studied thereafter with François Joseph Bosio (1768-1845), famous for his designs for Napoleon and the restored French monarchy. Francisque won the Prix de Rome in 1823 along with Augustin Dumont for the bas-relief Evandre sur le corps de son Fils Pallas. He remained in Italy until 1828 and following his return to Paris received numerous commissions which led to his appointment as professor at l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts. His students there included Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, Jules Dalou, and Louis-Léon Cugnot.
Other important works include Neapolitan Fisher Dancing the Tarantella (Louvre) which debuted in 1833, France Protecting her Children (1855), two bronze atlantes at Napoleon's tomb in the Invalides, a large figure of Christ in the church of the Madeleine, marble statues of Dunois, Philippe of France, Chateaubriand, and Richelieu displayed at Versailles, and the group for the Fontaine Saint-Michel depicting the saint wrestling with Satan. He became a member of the Institut de France in 1845 and received the medal of honor in 1855.
