BRONZE SCULPTURE "LA JEUNESSE EFFEUILLANT DES ROSES" BY AIME MILLET (1819-1891)

Brown patina bronze sculpture after "La jeunesse effeuillant des roses" by Aimé Millet. It depicts a young woman draped in antique style, holding flowers in one hand and raising the other in a gesture of sowing. She wears a gilded bronze bracelet on her right arm. Signed "Aimé Millet" on the base. Foundry stamp "AB Paris". Antique proof from the Napoleon III period. Condition report In very good condition, with slight wear to the patina on the base. Documentation The stone statue of "La jeunesse effeuillant des roses" was made in 1862 for the tomb of Henri Murger (1822-1861), author of "Scènes de la vie de Bohème", in the Montmartre cemetery. The model would have been one of the characters in this novel, La Musette. The half-size bronze model of this statue was exhibited at the Salon of 1863, and the original attributed to the Musée d'Amiens in 1891. Aimé Millet (1819-1891) was a French sculptor active in the second half of the 19th century. The son of miniaturist Frédéric Millet, he began his career in Viollet-le-Duc's studio and attended the École des Arts décoratifs before entering the École des Beaux-arts in 1836. He studied under David d'Angers. Aimé Millet exhibits "Jeune pâtre pleurant son chevreau" at the Salon of 1840. He receives several commissions for the Louvre: "Louvois", "La Vigilance", "Mercure" and "Amazone". He works for the churches of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Saint Etienne du Mont and Saint Augustin. A regular exhibitor at the Salon, he scored several successes with "Ariane" (1857), "La Jeunesse effeuillant des roses" (1862) and "Cassandre" (1877). He created the monumental statue of Apollo on the roof of the Paris Opera, and the Seine and Marne rivers framing the clock at Paris City Hall. He produced a number of funerary works for Murger, Vernhet de Laumière, Bouteville, Jules Noriac, Marie Edmond Valentin, Amélie de Montpensier (Seville) and don José Rocafuerte (Ecuador). Two monumental works can also be seen in Paris: Phidias in the Jardin du Luxembourg and South America on the forecourt of the Musée d'Orsay. He won a First Class Medal at the Salon of 1857, another First Class Medal at the Universal Exhibitions of 1867 and 1878, and a Gold Medal at the Universal Exhibition of 1889. Millet was awarded the Légion d'honneur in 1859 and promoted to Officer in 1870. He was appointed professor at the École des Arts Décoratifs in 1870. XIX° period, Circa: 1870 Dim: W:11cm, D:18cm, H:44cm.