Attributed to Louis-Claude Vassé

This fine quality bust of a child relates to the so-called ‘Bambinelli’ portraits made by the prolific 18th-century French sculptor to Louis XV of France, Louis-Claude Vassé. Vassé was renowned for his captivating images of childhood, characterised by a lively realism and technical mastery, which compares closely to this finely carved marble bust. The present portrait derives from a winged terracotta bust of a putto looking towards the left, signed and dated Ludovicus Vassé Parisimus fecit anno 1755, formerly with Aguttes, Paris, 25 November 2011, lot 136; the waving hair, parted to the left, and features of the face are near identical, as well as the naturalistic folds in the neck. In addition, the present bust is mounted on a similar style base. Further stylistic parallels can be drawn to the bust of Enfant au fichu (identified as Vassé’s eldest daughter, Adelaide-Jeanne), including the soft finish of the face with chubby cheeks, subtle eyebrows, incised pupils and iris. 

Vassé made his first child bust circa 1742 during his time in Rome when he was a pensionnaire of the King at the Académie de France, which was a portrait of the young son of painter Jean-Francois De Troy, the director of the Académie de France between 1738-1751. Other artists of his time, including Jean-Baptiste Houdon and Jean-Baptiste Pigalle were inspired by Vassé’s vision and introduced a new realism to the likeness of 18th-century French child busts. The present animated bust can be convincingly placed in that time spirit and shows comparisons to other busts of Vassé’s contemporaries, including to the full figure of L'Enfant á la cage by Pigalle, in the Musée du Louvre (inv. no. RF 654); the waving hair, fine nose, full lips, eyes looking upwards, as well as the anatomy of the chest with soft folds underneath appear to be inspired from this model.

RELATED LITERATURE

B. Black, Vassé’s ‘Bambinelli’: The child portraits of an 18th century French sculptor, London, 1994; J. Gaborit, Jean Baptiste Pigalle: Sculptures du Musée du Louvre, Paris, 1985, pp. 48-51