CARRIER-BELLEUSE, Albert-Ernest (1824 Anizy-le-Château – 1887 Sèvres)

Bozzetto of an ancient female figure—“Drame!!”

Terracotta. Marked “A. Carrier 1846,” titled “Drame!!” on the base. H 50 cm. 9.85 kg.

Hand-modeled, classical-style depiction of a half-clad woman on an oval plinth with a scratched inscription “Drame!!”. The figure is depicted striding forward with a serious, almost solemn expression, creating a dynamic sense of movement as her head is turned back over her right shoulder. In her left arm, she holds a vessel of indeterminate shape in a protective gesture, while her right hand grasps another, unidentifiable object. Signs of age and wear, cracks and hairline cracks, minor chips on the base.

Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse: French sculptor and draftsman; studied under Pierre Jean David d’Angers at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris beginning in 1840; from the 1850s onward, he produced marble works, bronze sculptures, and terracotta busts; he was known as the “Clodion of the Second Empire” (Claude Michel Clodion, 1738–1814), In 1864, he became friends with the young sculptor Auguste Rodin; from 1875 to 1887, he served as artistic director and head of the studio at the Manufacture royale de porcelaine de Sèvres in Sèvres.

Provenance: Peter Kaus museum estate; purchased at auction for £17,000 at Sotheby’s on December 6, 2011.

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