Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse French, 1824-1887

This terracotta is in very good condition. It exhibits some rubbing to surface, minor chips, marks and dirt consistent with age. There are repaired breaks to the cherubs wings
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

L'Innocence Tourmentée par Les Amours is uncannily similar to the sculptural group Entre deux Amours (see lot 19), which Carrier-Belleuse sent along with the celebrated sculpture La Messie (see lot 253) to the 1867 Paris Salon.  Entre deux Amours handles the subject of motherhood, a particularly rich and popular theme in sculpture of the following decade, in which a mother with child at her breast is tempted by Cupid's salacious suggestions. Both the visual style of the figural group, as well as the features of the mother, and the style of her suggestive drapery re-appears in this extremely baroque inspired L'Innocence Tourmentée par Les Amours (offered by Carrier-Belleuse in his sale of 1887). As Hargrove points out, "themes of ambiguous situations were adored during the Second Empire and the Third Republic. By posing a "moral problem", such groups enabled the artists to convey a pleasantly equivocal idea without shocking good taste.  Carrier-Belleuse never laboured the point in a moralizing fashion...Susceptible as Carrier-Belleuse was to current trends, didactic rhetoric was not his nature; he preferred themes for their coyness and charm, leaving others to extol virtue. The depiction of mothers with their children had long been a favourite but under the July Monarchy, due to certain political schisms about a woman's role, the theme acquired new significance. Two types of desirability were juxtaposed: the good mother and the mistress. Numerous prints (but few sculptures in France) dealt with one kind or another".

The threat to a woman's "innocence" captured the imagination of many artists of the nineteenth century, the powerful, seemingly exigent implications of the "fallen" woman was perceived worthy of myriad artistic and literary interpretations. The popular press, both in articles and illustrations, was instrumental in propagating this dichotomy, which boundaries often remained fluid and ambiguous. In L'Innocence Tourmenteé par Les Amours, despite the vertiginous efforts of the golden cupids, the woman will not be swayed; she firmly grasps the corner of her dress and turns away from the ravaging. However, the paradox may lie in her expression, which is not as easily decoded, one can arguably detect an almost orgiastic glee, raising the question of how "troubled" innocence really is. The ambiguity and sensuality of the work is a precious example of nineteenth-century representations of women and sexuality.

RELATED LITERATURE
Lami, vol. 1, p. 283; Hargrove, pp. 53-54