Plaster Bust Signed P. Bonfis, 1848

Elegant patinated plaster bust of a man in civilian clothes from the mid-19th century, wearing a frock coat and ascot. The face, with its precise and realistic features, subtly conveys the dignity and seriousness of a notable of his time. The sculpture is signed on the reverse "P. Bonfis fecit 1848". The use of the Latin term fecit ("made") corresponds to the academic practice of sculptors of the period. The date, 1848, places the work in a pivotal moment in French history, between the July Monarchy and the birth of the Second Republic. The style, sober and naturalistic, testifies to the bourgeois and republican taste for faithful portraits, often commissioned by local figures or notable families. The precise modeling work, in the hair and attentive to the volumes of the costume, brings this bust closer to regional academic practices of the first half of the 19th century. The artist P. Bonfis, whose signature appears here, remains little documented. Homonyms are reported in the 19th century artistic circles, notably in Marseille and Montpellier, which suggests a sculptor or molder active in the south of France. This work demonstrates his expertise and is part of the tradition of plaster portrait busts made from live models, sometimes intended to be rendered in marble or bronze.