A Large Pair of Bronze Figural Candelabra

A Large Pair of Bronze Figural Candelabra

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Object Description

‘Deux Femmes Debout – porte-lumières, Style Renaissance’
A Large Pair of Gilt and Patinated Bronze Figural Torchères, Cast by Ferdinand Barbedienne, Paris, From the Models by Alexandre Falguière and Paul Dubois.

Signed ‘FALGUIERE’ and ‘P. DUBOIS’ respectively and inscribed ‘F. BARBEDIENNE. FONDEUR’.

Barbedienne illustrates a drawing of this pair of torcheres on page 63 of his 1886 catalogue ‘Bronzes D’ Art’. He lists them under the heading ‘Deux Femmes Debout’ and describes them as ‘Porte-Lumières, style Renaissance’ also indicating that they were modelled by Paul Dubois and Falguière.

This model of candelabra was exhibited by Barbedienne at the 1867 Exposition Universelle and subsequently installed at the Château de Compiègne as part of the refurbishment undertaken by Napoléon III and Empress Eugénie.

France, Circa 1870.

Paul Dubois
Paul Dubois (1827-1905) entered L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1858. He exhibited at the 1865 Salon the Chanteur Florentin, inspired by his period of study in Italy and later exhibited this model at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867 (now preserved at the Musée d’Orsay). His success brought him many important public and private commissions including a portrait for the Duc d’Aumale and a statue of Joan of Arc at Reims. He was appointed curator at the Luxembourg Museum in 1873 and went on to become Director of the L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1878.

Alexandre Falguière
Alexandre Falguière studied under Jouffroy at L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts, exhibiting for the first time at the salon in 1857. He won the Prix de Rome in 1859 and continued to find extraordinary success at the International Exhibitions of the period including the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867 where he won a first class medal. He was awarded the Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur in 1870. As well as private commissions he undertook a number of important commissions for the French state. In 1878 he was asked by the state to realise the Triomphe de la République, placed in 1881 at the summit of the Arc de Triomphe (taken down in 1886). His most important international work was the Lafayette monument in Washington D.C.

France, Circa 1870.

Object History

Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-1892) was the inspiration and driving force behind one of the most important French art foundries of the nineteenth century, rising from humble beginnings to be a recipient of the prestigious médaille d’honneur, and supreme industrial designer during an era of great technical advancement. Born the son of farmer in the Calvados region of northwest France, Barbedienne moved to Paris at the age of twelve to apprentice as a papermaker and by his early 20’s he had become a successful wallpaper manufacturer in his own right. In 1838 Barbedienne was introduced to the inventor Achille Collas (1795-1859), a man who would change Barbedienne’s entire trajectory. Collas had developed a modern form of pantograph, which allowed for the scaled reproduction of sculptures in various sizes. Barbedienne, who had always been fascinated by the arts and the evolving technologies of the French industrial revolution, quickly changed tact and entered in a partnership with Collas, thus establishing the firm Collas & Barbedienne. In its infancy the company specialised in reproducing both contemporary and ancient sculpture, making fine art more accessible to the quickly mobilizing middle classes. By 1846 the workshop began to produce decorative objects in addition to the bronze reductions, becoming equipped to perform fine metal cutting, bronze mounting, marble work, turning, enamel decoration, and crystal engraving. It was also during this period that the firm became internationally recognised, winning numerous medals at the major international exhibitions, including prizes in three different categories at the 1862 Great London Exhibition alone. At the 1878 Exposition universelle, the foundry was at its apex, as an art critic at the exhibition explained: “[Barbedienne est]… un des princes de l’industrie, le roi du bronze, le vulgarisateur de l’art ; sa maison est un temple où les dieux de l’Institut consentent à habiter….” (L. Faliz Fils, ‘Industires d’art au Champs de Mars: II Les Bronzes’, Exposition Universelle de 1878: Les Beaux-arts et les arts décoratifs, Paris, 1879, pp. 368).

Bibliography:
Barbedienne, Ferdinand. Bronzes d’ art : F . Barbedienne et Achille Collas Catalogue des Bronzes d’art, Paris 1884.
Florence Rionnet, Les bronzes Barbedienne, l’oeuvre d’une dynastie de fondeurs: L’oeuvre d’une dynastie de fondeurs (1834-1954), Paris, 2016.