Jean-baptiste Carpeaux (1827–1875) Bronze “notre-dame-du-saint-cordon”

Model created in 1870 posthumous cast Paris 1920 - 1939 signed: “JB Carpeaux“ with foundry mark “Susse Fres Edts Paris“

According to a legend, a holy Virgin is said to have protected Valenciennes from an outbreak of plague on 8th September 1008 by surrounding the city with a thread. In commemoration of this legend, a church for this saint was inaugurated on 4th May 1864, and Carpeaux happened to be in Valenciennes for the event. The story moved him so deeply that he created two sculptural groups inspired by it shortly after: In 1864, he made “Notre Dame du Saint-Cordon”, a group depicting Mary, Jesus and the Young John the Baptist and in 1870, following the birth of his eldest son Charles, he created the present group. The artist’s wife is depicted with their son during the siege of Paris in 1870/71. The original plaster model of the group is kept in the collection of the Louvre, Paris.

Provenance:
Collection Prof. Jules de Praeter
Collection Dr. Hugo Oelze, Amsterdam
Collection Rau for Unicef, purchased in 1973 at the Galerie Meissner, Zurich

Literature :
Michel Poletti and Alain Richarme, 'Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux sculpteur, catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre édité', Paris, 2003, ES 11 Contract with Susse s. Cadet, Susse Frères, Paris 1992, p. 371