Large Dancing Faun Signed Lequesne, Cast By Susse Frères

The patinated bronze sculpture depicts a nude faun, dancing and playing the flute. He dances balanced on a skin filled with air, in accordance with ancient custom, to indicate the character's instability. At his feet are other attributes of the bacchanalia: a tambourine, cymbals, a thyrsus, and a bunch of grapes.
Eugène-Louis Lequesne, a resident of the Villa Medici in Rome, took advantage of his stay in Italy to copy the Barberini Faun. Drawing on his experience, he drew inspiration from the ancient Dancing Faun, found in Pompeii and seen at the Archaeological Museum in Naples, to sculpt his own Faun. He presented the plaster cast of the Dancing Faun at the Salon of 1850-51 and received the first medal for sculpture for this work. It was at the 1852 Salon that he exhibited the bronze version. The State acquired it and the sculpture was shown at the 1855 Universal Exhibition, during which Lequesne received the Grand Prix for Sculpture and the Legion of Honor. It was then exhibited at the Luxembourg Museum.
The statue bears the stamp and signature on its base: Susse frères. Founded in 1758, the Susse brothers' company became a foundry and art publisher by the beginning of the 19th century; the sculptures produced by the Susse brothers are distinguished by their remarkable casting quality. The company primarily used the lost-wax or sand casting technique, two processes that ensured great precision in detail. Thus, the reliefs are clear, the textures well-defined, and the patinas often deep and uniform. In addition, Susse bronzes have a meticulous finish. The carvings are clean, and the adjustments between the different parts of a work are invisible. These elements reflect a high level of demand, typical of the editions produced in the 19th and early 20th centuries.