Object Description
Émile-Coriolan-Hippolyte Guillemin (French, 1841-1907)
A Fine Multipatinated Bronze Orientalist Bust of A Young Woman.
Signed and dated ‘Ele. Guillemin / 1882’.
Bronze, polychrome patina, inset with faceted red stones, on a veined red marble socle.
This impressive ‘Orientalist’ bust has a fine multipatinated surface, the young woman dressed in traditional costume and adorned with regional jewels. an example of the finely detailed polychrome sculptures for which Guillemin is best known. Dated 1882,the model was first exhibited at the Paris Salon of that year (no. 4460).
Emile Guillemin made his debut at the Salon in 1870, and from 1877 submitted works on exclusively Orientalist themes, receiving an Honorable Mention for sculpture in 1897. Although his oeuvre included a wide range of subjects, Guillemin specialised in ethnographic sculpture and is renowned as a proponent of the Orientalist movement. His approach to his subjects was not simply decorative and, as in the work of Charles Cordier, Guillemin went to great lengths to ensure the accuracy of the costumes and physiognomies of his busts.
France, Dated 1882.