19th-century Orientalist Bronze, Signed: Didier Debut, 64 Cm, The Tunisian Water Carrier

Period: 19th century, bronze in perfect condition, lost-wax casting, bronze with 3 patinas.

Signed: Signed in the bronze, artist listed and priced,

Sold with invoice and certificate

Subject: “The Tunisian Water Carrier”

Dimensions: Height: 64 cm, Width: 20 cm, Depth: 28 cm, Weight: 11.3 kg

Biography:

Jean Didier DEBUT 1824 / 1893

Jean Didier Début was a French sculptor, born in Moulins on June 4, 1824, and died in Paris on April 5, 1893.

Son of Claude Blaise Debut, a captain in the Somme Mounted Chasseurs Regiment, and Joséphine Rocdot. He entered the École Royale des Beaux-Arts on September 19, 1842, recommended by Pierre Jean David, known as David d’Angers. In 1845, he was awarded an honorable mention in the composition competition there.

Didier Début began exhibiting at the Salon in 1848

After several attempts, he won the Second Grand Prix de Rome for sculpture on September 13, 1851. He continued to strive for the First Prize but, in 1852 and 1853, was ranked only fifth.

He frequently participated in the Salon of the Society of French Artists until his death, primarily exhibiting plaster statuettes. The artist owes his current fame mainly to the production of his few Orientalist-inspired sculptures.

He participated in major decorative projects for Parisian monuments in the second half of the 19th century, including City Hall, the Palais Garnier, and the Commercial Court. His statuettes were cast in bronze.

He died on April 5, 1893, at his Paris home on the Quai de Béthune.

His son, Marcel Début (1865–1933), was a painter and sculptor.

Works in Museums:

Angers: Museum of Fine Arts: Young Cowherd Blowing a Horn, 1875 Salon, plaster; current location unknown.

Bordeaux: Museum of Fine Arts: Vercingétorix, or A Gaul, bronze statuette with a brown patina. The original plaster cast was exhibited at the 1888 Salon.

Moulins: Anne-de-Beaujeu Museum:

Bust of Raphael, donated by Marcel Début.

The Greeks and the Trojans Dispute the Body of Patroclus, plaster bas-relief, second prize at the 1851 Prix de Rome;

Paris:

Montmartre Cemetery (19th division): Funerary monument to Dr. Palmier, stone bust, 0.58 m, erected by his parents and friends.

City Hall:

Charles Rollin, stone statue, façade facing Place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville – Esplanade de la Libération, right-hand corner pavilion on the first floor;

François de La Rochefoucauld, stone statue, façade facing the Quai de l’Hôtel-de-Ville, right-hand pavilion, second floor.

Palais Garnier: decorative statues, including The Passion, 1875, marble statue.

Commercial Court: eight caryatids supporting the coffered dome.

Source: Bénézit and *Les Bronzes du XIX°*, Pierre Kjellberg, Editions de l’amateur.

Sold with invoice and certificate

Bronze on view at our gallery in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (France) on weekends.

Free shipping within France

And shipping to other countries available upon request

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