A Late 19th Century French Bronze Figure of a Mandolin Player Entitled “CIGALE”
Item # 7667
A Late 19th Century French Bronze Figure of a Mandolin Player
Entitled "CIGALE"
By A. Carrier Belleuse
The scantily clad female muse shown seated on a rockwork plinth, verde antico marble base
Albert Ernest Carrier-Belleuse was born 1824 and died 1887. He began his career at the young age of thirteen as a goldsmith's apprentice. At the age of sixteen he became astuient at the École des Beaux Arts. A short time after that went to the Petite École and studed decorative arts. At the age of thirty three he bagan to exhibit large sulptures at the Salon. It was here that he was awarded medals and was commisioned by future clients.
He was employed from 1851 to 1870 by Emperor Napoleon III and help rebuild Paris and became the Artistic Directory of the Sèvres porcelain factory in 1876. His torchères for the Paris Opéra combined figures inspired by sixteenth-century sculptors with electrotyping, a new process for replicating three-dimensional objects.
Details:
Height – 32 inches / 81cm
Width – 11 inches / 28cm
Maker – Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse
