VENUS COMING OUT OF THE BATH AFTER CHRISTOPHE-GABRIEL ALLEGRAIN (1710-1795)

Bronze sculpture with a brown and gilded patina after "Venus leaving the bath", also called "The Bather" by Gabriel-Christophe Allégrain (Paris, 1710-1795). The original in marble of neoclassical taste was commissioned in 1755 by the Marquis de Marigny (1727-1781), director general of the King's Buildings, for his castle of Choisy-le-Roi. The plaster model was presented at the Salon of 1757 and the marble statue at the Salon of 1767 where it was noticed by Denis Diderot who left a famous comment: "Beautiful, beautiful, sublime figure; they even say the most beautiful, the most perfect figure that moderns have made [...] The beautiful shoulders, how beautiful they are, how chubby this back is, what a shape of arms, what precious, what miraculous truths of nature in all these parts. This is the first important commission given to the sculptor. Allegrain was inspired by a small bronze by the Mannerist sculptor Jean de Bologne, "Baigneuse posant le pied sur un vase de parfum" (Bathing girl putting her foot on a vase of perfume), taking up the sinuous line of the body, the drooping shoulders, the high chest and the hairstyle composed of sophisticated plaits. The sculpture was acquired by Louis XV who offered it on April 12, 1772 to his favorite, the Countess Du Barry (1743-1793) who installed it in the park of her castle of Louveciennes. The original is currently kept in the Louvre Museum. This bronze edition was made in the 19th century by the Parisian bronze maker Graux-Marly Frères (mark on the base: GRAUX-MARLY FRERES / PARIS). The Graux-Marly company, founded in 1845, was established at 8, rue du Parc Royal, in 1862. It manufactured sculptures and furnishing objects. It won a bronze medal at the 1849 National Exhibition of Industrial Products and a first class medal at the 1855 Universal Exhibition. It was dissolved in May 1890.