FLORENTINE SINGER OF THE 15TH CENTURY. PAUL DUBOIS, BARBEDIENNE FOUNDRYMAN

Bronze proof with brown patina, signed and dated on the terrace: P. DUBOIS 1865. Mechanical reduction stamp A. COLLAS and signature of founder Ferdinand BARBEDIENNE. Marked by his stay in Italy, Paul Dubois (1827-1905) attracted great success from the outset with refined works inspired by the Italian Renaissance. It was in this vein that he modeled the Florentine Singer, with which he won the medal of honor at the 1865 Salon. The craze was immense, and the sculpture, one of the most popular of its time, was produced in several sizes for almost a century by the publisher Barbedienne. The graceful, elegant silhouette of the young boy, the smooth, lanky volume of his legs, contrasts with the extraordinarily precise description of the details of his clothing and accessories: shoe laces, knee-length pleats, sleeve buttons, instrument strings and keys, chiselled hair. The silver-plated bronze statue is in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. The silver plating on the bronze further accentuates the work's precious character, and one hesitates between sculpture and goldsmithing. The first example was bought by Princess Mathilde, who ran one of the most brilliant artistic and literary salons during the Second Empire. XIX° period, Circa: 1870 Dim: W:23cm, D:20cm, H:63cm.