Bronze Henry Dumaige
Artist: Henry Etienne Dumaige (1830 - 1888)
Rare sculpture by the artist!
Henry Etienne Dumaigne 1830 - 1888
"La Patrie "
- private collection, Alsace
This imposing bronze figure, with its remarkable presencepresence, belongs to the most accomplished vein of French academic sculptureFrench academic sculpture of the second half of the 19th century. Itrepresents a cavalryman - a cavalry officer - in a noble, meditative attitude. meditative attitude, an ideal synthesis of realistic military detail andand allegorical exaltation.
The figure, dressed in a tight-fitting cuirass and richly structured uniformuniform, immediately evokes the elite corps of the French cavalryFrench cavalry - cuirassiers or dragons - whose bravery was, in the collectivecollective imagination of the time, one of the nation's last ramparts.of the nation. The saber, held with confidence, and the helmet thrown backand the helmet thrown back, are part of this heroic iconography, tempereda certain interiority of gaze, almost melancholy.
The composition is based on a subtle contrapposto: one leg bent,one leg bent, the other engaged, the left arm resting, giving the figure a naturalnatural breathing that breaks with any martial rigidity. Thissupple modeling, particularly evident in the treatment of fabricsfabrics - the pleats of the pants, the tension of the leather of the cuirassfringes of the shoulder pads - testifies to Dumaige's virtuoso skills, trained in the great traditiontradition of Parisian academic sculpture.
The terrace, adorned with finely chiseled plant motifs, features a lapidary inscriptiona lapidary inscription: "PATRIE", which elevates the figure of the simpleto the rank of allegory. The work thus goes beyond the typical portrait to become an idealized embodiment of duty, sacrifice and nationalof duty, sacrifice and attachment to the nation - a reading to be read in thehistorical context of the post-1870 war period, when public sculpture and publishingand publishing sculpture became a vehicle for renewed patriotic sentiment.
Due to its scale - 76 cm - this work belongs to the large-formatcategory of large-format bronzes, aimed at a cultivated bourgeois clientelebourgeois clientele, sensitive to civic values and academic aesthetics.However, it stands out for its particularly high quality of execution in the precision of the chasing and the richness of the deep browndeep brown patina with subtly modulated reflections.
This sculpture is an emblematic example of Henry Dumaige's work.of Henry Dumaige's work, where rigorous academic vocabulary is combined withexpressive sensitivity, in the service of a sublimated patriotic ideal.sublimated.
Henry Etienne Dumaigne 1830 - 1888
"La Patrie "
Bronze with medal patina
Height: 77cm
Signature lower right
circa 1886
Exhibition
- Probably a similar work shown at the 1886 Paris Salon
- private collection, Alsace
This imposing bronze figure, with its remarkable presencepresence, belongs to the most accomplished vein of French academic sculptureFrench academic sculpture of the second half of the 19th century. Itrepresents a cavalryman - a cavalry officer - in a noble, meditative attitude. meditative attitude, an ideal synthesis of realistic military detail andand allegorical exaltation.
The figure, dressed in a tight-fitting cuirass and richly structured uniformuniform, immediately evokes the elite corps of the French cavalryFrench cavalry - cuirassiers or dragons - whose bravery was, in the collectivecollective imagination of the time, one of the nation's last ramparts.of the nation. The saber, held with confidence, and the helmet thrown backand the helmet thrown back, are part of this heroic iconography, tempereda certain interiority of gaze, almost melancholy.
The composition is based on a subtle contrapposto: one leg bent,one leg bent, the other engaged, the left arm resting, giving the figure a naturalnatural breathing that breaks with any martial rigidity. Thissupple modeling, particularly evident in the treatment of fabricsfabrics - the pleats of the pants, the tension of the leather of the cuirassfringes of the shoulder pads - testifies to Dumaige's virtuoso skills, trained in the great traditiontradition of Parisian academic sculpture.
The terrace, adorned with finely chiseled plant motifs, features a lapidary inscriptiona lapidary inscription: "PATRIE", which elevates the figure of the simpleto the rank of allegory. The work thus goes beyond the typical portrait to become an idealized embodiment of duty, sacrifice and nationalof duty, sacrifice and attachment to the nation - a reading to be read in thehistorical context of the post-1870 war period, when public sculpture and publishingand publishing sculpture became a vehicle for renewed patriotic sentiment.
Due to its scale - 76 cm - this work belongs to the large-formatcategory of large-format bronzes, aimed at a cultivated bourgeois clientelebourgeois clientele, sensitive to civic values and academic aesthetics.However, it stands out for its particularly high quality of execution in the precision of the chasing and the richness of the deep browndeep brown patina with subtly modulated reflections.
This sculpture is an emblematic example of Henry Dumaige's work.of Henry Dumaige's work, where rigorous academic vocabulary is combined withexpressive sensitivity, in the service of a sublimated patriotic ideal.sublimated.
3 800 €
Period: 19th century
Style: Napoleon 3rd
Condition: Good condition
Material: Bronze
Height: 77cm
Reference (ID): 1735782
Availability: In stock
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