Laurent Honoré Marqueste ( 1848-1920 ) Large Sculpture In Sèvres Porcelain Cookie

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Laurent Honoré Marqueste ( 1848-1920 ) Large Sculpture In Sèvres Porcelain Cookie

Artist: Laurent Honoré Marqueste / Sèvres

This porcelain cookie sculpture by Laurent-Honoré Marqueste depicts Galathée, the central figure in the Pygmalion myth.

This story, taken from Ovid's Metamorphoses (Book X, verses 243-297), tells of a Cypriot sculptor, Pygmalion, who is disappointed by the women of his day.

So he creates a statue of ideal beauty, falls madly in love with it, and implores Venus to bring it to life.

Touched by his passion, the goddess grants his wish: the statue comes to life under his hands.

Marqueste chooses to immortalize this precise moment when Galathée passes from stone to flesh.

Her body, delicately twisted, seems to slowly extract itself from matter, as if life is emerging before our eyes. The raised arms in a gesture both protective and filled with wonder, reinforce this impression of movement and transformation.

The remarkably fine Sèvres cookie treatment captures the softness of an incipient, almost palpable skin.

Galathée's face, half-veiled by her arms, expresses a touching modesty, that of a being suddenly discovering the world and its sensations.

At the foot of the sculpture, a mallet and a rose discreetly recall Pygmalion's hand and the love that inspired this creation.

Marqueste makes the bold choice to represent only Galathée, without Pygmalion.

This absence reinforces the symbolic intensity of the work and invites us to meditate on the tenuous boundary between art and life, matter and feeling.

The sculpture, 72 cm high (80 cm with its carved wooden base), bears the signature and seal of the prestigious Sèvres factory.

A small gap, located at the back of the base, is visible in the photos.

This piece, both technical and poetic, is a tribute to Marqueste's genius and the art of French porcelain.

It embodies the eternal dialogue between dream and reality, the artist and his work, matter and soul.

You can follow me on my Instagram by following this link: https://www.instagram.com/patrick.boussougant/
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3 500 €

CONTACT

ABN Antiquités Brocante de Normandie - Rouen, France

Period: 19th century

Style: Other Style

Condition: Good condition

Material: Biscuit

Height: 80 cm

Reference (ID): 1744859

Availability: In stock

Laurent Honoré Marqueste ( 1848-1920 ) Large Sculpture In Sèvres Porcelain Cookie

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