Bronze, Signed By Léon Eugène Longepied, 1849–1888

19th-century bronze sculpture depicting a fisherman pulling Orpheus’s head from his nets; signed “Leon Eugène.” Longepied (1849–1888). A student of Jules Cavelier, Mathurin Moreau, and Jules Coutan at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Léon-Eugène Longepied exhibited for the first time at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1870. He was awarded a third-class medal in 1880 and a first-class medal in 1882.

He was named a Knight of the Legion of Honor on July 24, 18871.

Léon-Eugène Longepied had fought during the Siege of Paris in 1870 and, at the time of his death, was a captain in the 36th Territorial Infantry Regiment.²

He died at his Paris home on Rue Denfert-Rochereau on October 13, 1888,³ and was buried in Paris at the Montparnasse Cemetery, where his tomb is adorned with an allegory of Sculpture, depicted as a young woman in tears, veiled and lightly draped, seated in front of a funerary monument designed by the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Antoine Champeil.

Fisherman Bringing Orpheus’s Head Back in His Nets, 1882 Salon, marble statue, Paris, Jardin du Ranelagh.