19th and 20th Century Sculpture: Including Works by Rodin’s Teacher, Carrier-Belleuse
19th and 20th Century Sculpture: Including Works by Rodin’s Teacher, Carrier-Belleuse
Prosper d'Epinay
Bust of Madame Moreau
Lot Closed
July 13, 10:09 AM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Prosper d'Epinay
Mauritian
1836 - 1914
Bust of Madame Moreau
signed and dated: P. D'EPINAY / Rome 1865
white marble
59cm., 23¼in. overall
Private collection, Mauritius, until 1990s, and Ireland
P. Roux Foujols, Prosper d'Épinay (1836-1914): Un mauricien à la cour des princes, Ile Maurice, 1996, p. 102
Prosper d'Épinay was born in Mauritius in 1836, the son of the prominent lawyer and politician, Adrien d'Épinay. In 1857 he moved to Paris to study caricature under the sculptor Jean-Pierre Dantan, and, from 1861, he worked in Rome for Luigi Amici. A British subject, he was active in London during the 1860s and 1870s, and, despite eventually settling in Paris, he continued to exhibit at the Royal Academy in London until as late as 1881.
The present bust exhibits superb carving, particularly in the elaborate hair arrangement. It is likely to be the bust of Madame Moreau, which, according to Roux Foujols was carved in 1865.
RELATED LITERATURE
F. Thiébault-Sisson, “L’art élégant, Prosper d’Épinay”, in La nouvelle revue, 9, vol. 49, Nov. Dec. 1887, pp. 830-849; P. Roux Foujols, Prosper d'Épinay (1836-1914): Un mauricien à la cour des princes, Ile Maurice, 1996