Publishing bronzes in 19th-century France

Bronze publishing: a social phenomenon

The small sculpture or art casting industry is a surprising phenomenon in terms of its scale and the variety of technological and commercial means employed, whose products have always been sought after on the art market. The bronze publishing industry began in the 1830s and 1840s and was a meteoric success. According to Bernard Metman's definition, the "small bronze " includes "not only works created by the artist to be statuettes, but also life-size or monumental works, commissioned by the state or by a community (...) which, reduced by the publisher, became small sculpture suitable for decorating interiors" [Metman, p. 219].

A new art economy

The bronze edition was made possible by three factors: firstly, advances in the sand casting process, which made it possible to reproduce works in large numbers without having to remake a model for each one; secondly, the apparatus invented by Achille Collas in 1839, which made it possible to reproduce, reduce or enlarge models mechanically; and finally, the contracts established between artists, founders and dealer-publishers, who joined forces to respond to the growing attraction of the bourgeoisie for this small-scale statuary.

In the early days of the bronze industry, the artist gave one or more art casters the right to reproduce one or more works in a specific size and material. Some sculptors went so far as to give the manufacturers the full rights to reproduce their work in any size and by any means. Sometimes the founders were allowed to make modifications to the original models for commercial reasons in order to make ornaments for clocks, vases and candelabras.

Bronze sculpture of "Venus and Love".

The considerable number of small bronzes produced in the 19th century is therefore characterized by the absence of intervention by the model's author in the multiplication process. Indeed, artists had no control over the number or quality of prints made from their work. For most, it was a matter of producing to demand, which continued to grow in the last decades of the century.

First of all, the art caster buys from the sculptor the desired number of models with the right to reproduce them in order to have the bronzes executed by a foundry. Later on, the founder himself becomes the artist's manufacturer. He informs the artist about the public's taste and publishes catalogues in which the edition bronzes are presented in various versions and sizes.

Bronze sculpture of "Diana the Huntress", signed Mathurin Moreau

Successful bronze sculptures by Barye, Pigalle and Pierre-Jules-Mène are marketed in several sizes and multiplied with precision at affordable prices by major foundries such as Ferdinand Barbedienne, the Susse brothers and Thiébaut, the three leading specialists in bronze figurines with unlimited print runs.

The sculptor can only control each copy of his work if the print run is limited. This notion of limiting and numbering proofs only appeared at the end of the 19th century, and only gradually became established. Each print then bore a serial number and, generally, the total number of the print run, which, in principle, must not be exceeded. From then on, numerical limits became a decisive factor in establishing and guaranteeing the authenticity or quality of a work.

Ancient and mythological subjects

Among the themes most frequently dealt with by founders were copies of ancient or small works. Once they were in the public domain, the founders took the liberty of reducing them and melting them down, thus allowing them to be distributed to as many people as possible.

Bronze of "Orphée et Cerbère" signed Edmé Antony Paul Noël

The Barbedienne foundry reproduced all styles and genres in bronze: antique statues such as Apollo of Belvedere, the Venus de Milo and Le Discobole, Renaissance works such as Michelangelo's Moses , Guillaume Coustou's Horses of Marly, The Abduction of Proserpine and Mercury after Giambologna. These statues, copied identically or with variations, adorned mantelpieces, chest of drawers, shelves, display cabinets and other furniture, the sumptuousness of which was magnificently described in Flaubert's L'Education sentimentale.

Neoclassical works from the early 19th century were widely reproduced during the Second Empire and Third Republic. These included numerous satyrs and bacchantes in the style of the sculptor Clodion (1738-1814), as well as genre statuettes whose subjects, inspired by Antiquity or everyday life, provided a pretext for illustrating the female body. James Pradier is particularly renowned for his production of sensual figurines and odalisques.

"Bacchantes and dancing putti" after Clodion

Small bronzes inspired by Antiquity were also cast with Greek heroes and gods, such as The Warrior by Auguste de Wever (1836-1910). Individual portraits, feats of arms and national heroes symbolized by gods or heroes from ancient mythology, or effigies of Roman emperors, were revived.

These nude or toga-clad figures with draped effects, dancing and depicting mythological scenes, appealed to a cultured clientele interested in finding at home the works they had admired in museums or books.

Animal statuettes

Some contemporary sculptors execute or commission reductions of their monumental statues and groups presented at the Salon, while others create small-scale works specifically for publishing and adorning clocks, bedrooms or living rooms.

Bronze of Ariadne riding a Panther

The most famous of these was Antoine-Louis Barye, whose lions, stags and hunting dogs were to be found in every bourgeois interior of the time. The vogue for Barye's animal sculptures continued into the first decades of the 20th century with François Pompon and Nerid.

Bronze animal, "L'Accolade", 19th century

The small bronze, a decorative object

Small bronze statuettes are also used as ornaments on items ranging from writing cases and vases, to mantelpieces, clocks and ewers, and their decorative vocabulary is diverse. Most often, they are inspired by vegetal themes, animal, human or fantastical representations such as lions, loves, dolphins, sphinxes or women's bodies.

Small bronze vase by Jean-Paul Aubé, Thiebaut Frères foundry, Circa 1900

Bibliography

• DEVAUX, Yves, L'Univers des bronzes et des fontes ornementales (Chefs-d'œuvre et curiosités 1850-1920), Paris, Pygmalion, 1978.
• KJELLBERG, Pierre, Les bronzes du XIX° siècle. Dictionnaire des sculpteurs, Paris, Les Editions de l'Amateur, [1989].
• LEBON, Elisabeth, Dictionnaire des fondeurs de bronze d'art, France 1890-1950, Perth, Marjon, 2003.
• METMAN, Bernard, "La petite sculpture au XIXe siècle. Les éditeurs", in Documents sur la sculpture française. Répertoire des fondeurs du XIX° siècle. Archives de l'art français, t. XXX, Nogent-le-Roi, Libr. des Arts et Métiers, 1989, pp. 175-218.