A Parisian bronze bust “du Prince impérial“
Burnished bronze bust inscribed on the plinth "S.A. LE PRINCE IMPERIAL" and the figure "dévêtu, coupé aux épaules". The left side of the plinth engraved "JB.te CARPEAUX TUILERIES. PÂQUES. 1865" above Carpeaux's oval stamp with an eagle. The reverse slightly soiled. H 31.2, W plinth 8.6, D 8.6 cm.
The model by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, 1865, cast soon after.
"Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827 - 1875) created two different portraits of Eugène-Louis Napoléon (1857 - 1879), the son of Emperor Napoléon III and Empress Eugénie, both in 1865. One shows the young prince wearing a jacket, collared shirt and artistic neck tie (avec veston et pochette), whereas the second version presented here is ""à l'antique"", unclothed but with an identical head posture and the slightly dreamy gaze directed to the left with wide-open eyes. Both versions were executed on the same plinth, in terre cuite, plaster, and bronze. The version ""à l'antique"" is still produced today in bisque porcelain by the Sèvres Manufactory, in heights of 32 cm, 26 cm, 18 cm, 14 cm and 8 cm.
Some busts of the clothed and unclothed prince bear the oval stamp mark with the imperial eagle, among others those in Versailles, Musée national du château, inv. nos. MV 5398 and MV 8185 and in Compiègne, Musée national du château, inv. no. IMP170.
The first owner of this bust was the French General Ludovic (Louis) de Garnier des Garets (1838 - 1927). He took part in the China campaign in 1860 and the Cochinchina campaign in 1861. He was wounded at the battle of Gravelotte. After the surrender of Metz, he became a German prisoner of war. From 1873 he commanded various infantry regiments, and in 1890 he was appointed Commander of the Legion of Honour. His second wife, Marie de Larminat, was a companion of the Empress Eugénie from the age of 18 and followed her into exile in England.
This lot is accompanied by a calling card written in brown ink by Viscount Louis des Garets, certifying that the bust was given to him by Empress Eugénie and dated 1932, Neuilly-sur-Seine."
Provenance
"Ludovic (Louis) de Garnier des Garets (1838 - 1927).
Collection of Marcel Guillot.
In French family ownership until the present day."
Literature
Cf. Poletti/Richarme, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux sculpteur catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre édité, Paris 2003, p. 122 ff.
This version is not mentioned in Poletti/Richarme. It is probably a smaller version of those mentioned by them as “exemplary“:
Paris, musée d'Orsay (plâtre, inscription sur l'avant du piédouche: "S.A. le Prince impérial", à droite inscription effacée (surmoulage): "C....Tuiler...", traces de mises au point, à servi à l'exécution d'un marbre, provenance inconnue, RF3915".