Large 19th Century Bronze, 85 Cm, Signed Paul Dubois 1829/1905, Harlequin

Period: 19th century, lost-wax bronze on a bronze base, in excellent condition.

Signed: Paul DUBOIS, 19th century artist, referenced and listed

Subject: Harlequin

Dimensions: Total height: 85 cm, width: 45 cm, depth: 40 cm, approximately 30 kg

Biography:

Paul DUBOIS 1829 / 1905

Paul Dubois, born July 18, 1829 in Nogent-sur-Seine (Aube)1 and died May 23, 1905 in Paris (6th arrondissement), was a French sculptor and painter.

Paul Dubois was the son of François Antoine Dubois (1798-1868), royal notary, mayor of Nogent-sur-Seine and general councilor of the Aube department, and the great-nephew of the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Pigalle. He made his debut at the 1857 Salon under the name Dubois-Pigalle, where he achieved great success.

After studying law, he was admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the studio of Armand Toussaint, before traveling to Rome. He made his debut at the 1860 Salon, exhibiting the Bust of the Countess of B. and a Child. He won medals for his first two statues, Saint John the Baptist and Narcissus Bathing, in 1863.

Deeply influenced by Italy and Renaissance art, he became a leader of the so-called "Florentine" sculptors, emulating their Quattrocento predecessors. Back in Paris, he enjoyed great success with The Florentine Singer of the 15th Century and won the Medal of Honor at the 1865 Salon.

Paul Dubois became friends with other sculptors, Henri Chapu (1833-1891), Alexandre Falguière (1831-1900), and musicians such as Georges Bizet (1838-1875).

The Duke of Aumale commissioned him to create the equestrian statue of Constable Anne de Montmorency, located in the center of the esplanade leading to the entrance to the Château de Chantilly.

One of his major works is the statuary of the Cenotaph of General de Lamoricière at Nantes Cathedral. Dubois was commissioned to sculpt the four bronze statues that flank the mausoleum; they were notably inspired by the allegories of the Medici tomb in Florence. He exhibited two of these figures, Charity and Wisdom, at the 1877 Salon.

In 1865 and 1876, he received a medal of honor at the Salon des Beaux-Arts. He was a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts.

In 1873, Dubois was appointed curator of the Musée du Luxembourg. In 1878, he succeeded Eugène Guillaume as director of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

His students included Fabio Stecchi and Camille Claudel until the latter's encounter with Auguste Rodin in 1884.

His Monument to Joan of Arc, unveiled on the forecourt of Reims Cathedral on July 14, 1896, also contributed to his renown and earned him a promotion to Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor2 by President Félix Faure. Paul Dubois died on May 23, 1905, in Paris. He is buried in the Père-Lachaise Cemetery (9th division). His funeral monument is adorned with a bronze statue by the sculptor representing his mother, Claudine Sophie.

Barbedienne was its founder for many years.

Source: Bénézit and Pierre Kjellberg, Dictionary of Sculptors: 19th-Century Bronzes, Éditions de l'Amateur, 1997.

Works in Public Collections

Chantilly: Château de Chantilly, esplanade: Monument to Anne de Montmorency, bronze equestrian statue.

Dreux: Royal Chapel: recumbent statue of Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale (1822–1897), fifth son of Louis Philippe. Gray (Haute-Saône), Baron-Martin Museum, Mother and Child, Sèvres biscuit, 23.2 x 24 cm, bequest of Albert Pomme de Mirimonde to the RMN, assigned to the Gray Museum.

Montpellier: Fabre Museum: Bust of Alexandre Cabanel, 1882.

Nancy: Souvenir, Salon of 1899.

Nantes: Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul: Charity; Wisdom; Faith; Military Courage, bronze statues flanking the Cenotaph of General de Lamoricière.

Paris: National Academy of Medicine: Louis Pasteur, bust.

Orsay Museum: 15th-Century Florentine Singer, 1865, silver-plated bronze. The plaster model of this statue is in the Museum of Fine Arts in Troyes.

Romantic Life Museum: Bust of a Woman, marble. Petit Palais: The Birth of Eve, 1873.

Place Saint-Augustin: Monument to Joan of Arc, 1900.

Church of the Holy Trinity, Paris: The Virgin and Child.

Reims: Monument to Joan of Arc, 1896.

Troyes: Groups of sketches, Dante, cherubs, bust of a woman, Marie-Louise d'Adda Salvaterra,

Nude Women in a Wood, Italian Peasant Woman, Landscape, Cliff, Seascape, Study of Trees,

Military Courage, Charity, Faith.

Museums:

Angoulême, Bayonne, Chalons-sur-Marne, Chartres, Epinal, Grenoble, Langres, Niort, Paris Orsay, Paris Petit Palais, Périgueux, Troyes, Versailles Château.

THE HARLEQUIN :

Harlequin (Italian: Arlecchino) is a typical character of the commedia dell'arte who appeared in 16th-century Italy. He wears a black mask and a costume made of multicolored diamonds. These diamonds are said to represent Harlequin's many facets, as well as his poverty.

Harlequin plays the role of the humble servant, as in Carlo Goldoni's Harlequin, Servant of Two Masters. He can also be Columbine's lover and therefore a rival of Pierrot. He appeared in France during the time of Molière, where his characteristics evolved. In Marivaux's plays, as in Slave Island, he thus becomes a seemingly naive and sensitive servant, yet one who hints at the intelligence and cunning of a feigned submission. Marivaux's dramaturgy develops, through his interest in language (and its corollaries), the character of Harlequin.

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Bronze on view at our gallery in L'Isle sur la Sorgue (France), on weekends.

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And upon request for international orders.